Surface Dressing

Surface dressing is the application of hot bitumen and chippings to the road surface. It is one of the most cost effective methods of highways maintenance available and is very widely used, but is not usually suitable for high stress sites e.g. roundabouts.

Surface dressing seals the road to prevent the ingress of water and the bitumen forms a protective barrier against rain and frost to protect the road foundations, significantly extending the life of the road. Surface dressing also restores skid resistance leading to increased safety as well as enhancing the appearance of the road.

Once the bitumen and chippings have been laid, a heavy roller provides an initial degree of embedment but the real work of consolidation is provided by the traffic. Shortly after application and rolling, the road is swept and markings applied, usually within 2 to 4 working days.

Surface dressing, has a limited life of between seven to fifteen years depending on traffic and environmental factors.

If the foundations of a road have collapsed, surface dressing cannot provide additional strength. In such circumstances it will be necessary to Resurface or Reconstruct