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Hertfordshire County Council

Types of highways works in Hertfordshire

How we decide what's needed

We check the condition of every public road in the county each year and consider factors including likely future deterioration, traffic and location.

Although we can’t fix all the roads at once, we give priority to those projects which will give the best long term benefits within the available budget.

Why is no one on site for the full duration of the surfacing works?

A permit of 3-5 days is granted to allow our contractors a fair amount of time to get the surfacing work done. Works can start and finish at any time within this timeframe to allow for any delays. We recommend referring to signs for any updates on timings.

 

Planning when to do the works

Why aren’t works restricted to nights?

It isn’t always possible to restrict works to nights as some activities aren't safe to do under artificial light. Noise disruption to nearby residents is also an important consideration.

Why don't you remove cones and signs at the end of each day?

Often we can't remove things like traffic cones and signage if there are open excavations. Sometimes it's not possible to set out and remove cones and signage each day because the duration of the job would increase so much.

Why aren’t works done during school holidays?

With the quantity of works taking place across Hertfordshire, it's not possible to do all works during school holidays. We aim to plan in the most disruptive works during school holidays.

Scheduling around utility company work

We try to ensure any scheduled works are carried out before we resurface a road or pavement. However, we don’t always have sight of all upcoming works that utility companies and others have planned.

We may delay works that will disrupt a newly laid surface, unless they are new connections to properties which we can't defer.

Bin collections and roadworks

District and borough councils are responsible for bin collections and we can’t advise on their arrangements. We communicate our upcoming works on the website and put up advance warning boards.

Contact your district or borough council about bin collection arrangements for that week.

 

Types of road surfacing

Road micro surfacing

This is a fast and cost effective way to preserve and protect worn road surfaces. It can add 10 years or more to the life of a road. We can complete the work with much less disruption than conventional resurfacing. These works have a lower environmental impact than some other processes too.

Micro surfacing happens in a series of steps, which may be spread over several weeks:

  1. kill any weeds and remove overgrown grass either side of the road
  2. patch any major defects and surface cracks
  3. micro surfacing – 2 coatings of material are normally laid over the top of an existing surface to seal, protect it and improve skid resistance. The new surface will be wet for several hours
  4. adjust any manhole covers or drains to the new level, if required. This is usually within 6 weeks.

 

It's likely that some loose chippings are left on the road. We sweep the road, usually within 72 hours.

The new surface is hand finished so it can have a slightly coarse look, some loose stones, and there may be small puddles at first.

Surfacing work is weather sensitive so rain or cold weather on the day can delay things. Keep an eye on the advance warning signs on site.

 

Road surface dressing

Surface dressing is a fast, sustainable and cost-effective way to maintain a road surface. A thin layer is laid over the top of the existing road surface to seal and protect it, improving grip and making it more waterproof. 

First, we patch any defects on the current surface which the surface dressing won’t fix. This is usually done about 6 months before the dressing works.

The surface dressing then happens in 7 steps:

  1. sweep the road
  2. spray bitumen onto the road
  3. spread chippings over the bitumen
  4. roll the chippings to embed them into the surface
  5. sweep away loose chippings – this is usually a few days after the surface dressing
  6. traffic driving over the surface continues to embed the chippings. We'll put up signs to advise of the loose chippings and a lower advisory speed limit. Further sweeping will be required until there is no further significant loss of chippings
  7. replace all the white lines on the road and remove the temporary road signs. This is typically around a month after dressing.

 

Road resurfacing

The old surface is removed and any manhole or drain covers are adjusted or replaced, as required.

The surface is smoothed out to the same level and then cleaned, ready for the new material to be laid.

Whilst the hot materials are being laid, we have to close the road for the safety of residents. Emergency vehicles will still have access.

Road markings may be added separately afterwards.

The new surface will give a much better ride quality and restore texture and grip. It adds many years to the life of the road surface. 

Pavement micro surfacing

This is a fast and cost effective way to preserve and protect worn pavements. A mixture of stones and bitumen is added to the top of an existing surface. It can add ten years or more to the life of a pavement.

The steps are:

  1. kill any weeds
  2. remove overgrown grass either side of the pavement
  3. pressure wash to remove moss and loose material
  4. adjust any manhole covers or similar to the new level, if required
  5. patch any major defects and surface cracks
  6. micro surfacing. The new surface will be wet for several hours.

The new surface is hand finished so it can have a slightly coarse look, some loose stones, and there may be small puddles at first.

Surfacing work is weather sensitive so rain or cold weather on the day can delay things. Keep an eye on the advance warning signs on site.

 

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