Highway maintenance treatment types
Each site included on the highways planned maintenance programme will require a different method of treatment depending on the extent and nature of the deterioration. Repairs will range from patching to reconstruction work.
The main methods of treatment are as follows:
Surface Dressing - covering the carriageway with stone chips embedded in bitumen. Purpose: to seal the surface, improve skidding resistance and restore visual/ride quality.
MicroAsphalt - covering the carriageway with a veneer of cold laid surfacing material. Purpose: To seal the surface, improve skidding resistance and restore visual/ride quality. The profile of the road will be improved.
Overlay - covering the carriageway with dense hot laid surfacing material. Purpose: to replace a failed surface which is not suitable for Micro surfacing or Surface dressing. Restores ride quality, skidding resistance and can reduce noise.
Slurry Sealing - covering the footway with a veneer of cold laid surfacing material. Purpose: To seal the footway and improve the walking surface along a route.
Resurfacing - The replacement of bound layers as required in the footway or carriageway. Purpose: to replace a failed surface which is not suitable for Micro surfacing or Surface dressing. Restores ride quality, skidding resistance and can reduce noise.
Reconstruction - full reconstruction is generally not the preferred option. However, if a road has extensive deterioration, alternative strategies such as surface overlay or patching may not be effective and constant repair is often more costly in the long run. On footway reconstruction work this will involve relaying / replacement of the kerbline.