Major highways programme to improve nearly 100 Shropshire roads this summer
A huge roadworks programme is set to take place across the county, starting next month.
Shropshire Council said its efforts to improve the county's roads would see more than 90 stretches of road fixed as part of the road dressing programme.
The 95 roads include 13 in the central area of the county, 23 in northeast Shropshire, 15 in northwest Shropshire, 25 in southeast Shropshire, and 19 in southwest Shropshire.
They include roads in Shrewsbury, Minsterley, Westbury, Market Drayton, Whitchurch, Shawbury, Wem, Knockin, Oswestry, Bridgnorth, Claverley, Craven Arms, Clun, and Chirbury.
The work starts on May 3 and will continue until the end of July.
The sites identified for treatment are located across the county and include all types of road, from urban cul-de-sacs to major ‘A’ and ‘B’ roads.
Dean Carroll, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for highways, said: “As well as improving and protecting our roads, this important programme of work plays a crucial role in helping to prevent potholes and other defects forming in the future.
"Pothole treatment is very much about prevention as well as cure and this is one important way that we can aim to prevent potholes forming next winter.”
The issue of fixing the county's roads was listed as a priority for Council Leader Lezley Picton after she took on the role following Peter Nutting's defeat in last year's elections.
The council said that the 'surface dressing' method "is a quick, efficient and cost-effective way of preventing potholes, maintaining skid-resistance and waterproofing road surfaces".
Surface dressing involves applying and rolling aggregate ‘chippings’ onto a bitumen binder, to seal the surface, improve surface texture and prolong the life of the road.
A spokesman for the council added: "It forms a major part of the council’s annual road maintenance programme and is being carried out alongside other preventative and reactive maintenance work."
A full list of roads can be found at shropshire.gov.uk/roads-and-highways/.
