Weather exposure, water ingress and heavy, fast-moving traffic gradually wear down a road surface. This weakens skid resistance, making the road unsafe for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
Small problems are easy to fix. But the longer you leave them and the bigger they get, the more expensive it becomes to return roads to peak condition. A planned road maintenance strategy can mean the difference between sealing a few potholes and a lengthy road resurfacing project.
Understanding how roads deteriorate helps you plan the right maintenance approach at the right time. Let’s take a look at common road surface problems and explore how to plan a good road maintenance strategy so you can keep your roads safe.
Contact Hazell & Jefferies Ltd for trusted road maintenance and repairs in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Reading and the wider UK.
Rainfall, heavy traffic and constant warming and cooling cause road surfaces to crack.
These cracks start small, and are easy to fix with a touch of micro asphalt. But if they’re not caught early, the cracked asphalt allows water to seep below the surface, gradually eroding the material. And in winter, repeated freeze-thaw cycles push the road surface apart.
Over time, these minor defects grow into potholes. These make driving on the road bumpy and uncomfortable, which can cause serious damage to vehicles.
More importantly, though, worn roads have much lower skid resistance. This has a big impact on road safety, putting people at risk of accidents and injuries.
Government road repair data suggests that only around 3% of council-run roads receive road maintenance each year. And their backlog of carriageway repairs seems to be rising.
When it comes to the cost effectiveness of road repairs vs full resurfacing, fixing problems early is a great way to keep costs down. So it’s essential for local authorities to look out for signs a road needs immediate resurfacing or repair to protect road users and stay within their budget.
A lot of things cause cracks and water damage. So understanding the causes of road surface deterioration is key to staying on top of asphalt paving repairs.
The most common road surface maintenance issues include:
| Risk level | Problem | Likely cause | Typical solution |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | Potholes | Water ingress and traffic breaking down weakened areas | Cut out and patch (assess need for resurfacing) |
| Sinking sections of road | Sub-base movement or drainage failure | Excavate, rebuild foundation and resurface | |
| Layers separating | Poor bond between asphalt layers | Plane out failed layer and resurface | |
| Deep wheel-track ruts | Heavy vehicle loading deforming asphalt | Plane and resurface to restore levels | |
| Persistent standing water | Surface deformation or blocked drainage | Correct levels and clear drainage | |
| Snow and ice | Freezing conditions | Gritting and winter treatment | |
| Medium | Interconnected cracking | Ageing surface and fatigue | Surface dressing or resurfacing |
| Poorly repaired utility patches | Inadequate reinstatement | Remove and reinstate properly | |
| Road edges breaking away | Weak verge support and overrun | Edge repair and resurfacing | |
| Raised or sunken manhole covers | Settlement around ironwork | Reset covers and repair surface | |
| Repeated patch repairs | Underlying structural weakness | Wider resurfacing scheme | |
| Loose aggregate on surface | Ageing binder losing bond | Surface dressing or micro asphalt | |
| Blocked road drains | Debris build-up | Gully clearance | |
| Low | Damaged kerbs | Vehicle impact | Replace kerbs |
| Faded road markings | Traffic wear | Re-marking | |
| Debris on the road | Environmental accumulation | Clearance |
Hazell & Jefferies Ltd tackles road surface defects of all types and sizes throughout the UK. Contact us today for expert help in keeping your roads in excellent condition.
Once you know what to look for, you need to prepare a considered maintenance strategy. Follow these 5 simple steps to keep your roads in great condition while reducing your repair and maintenance spend.
Don’t just rely on public complaints to let you know when roads are getting worse. Instead, schedule regular visual inspections to identify early cracking, surface wear, drainage issues and edge breakdown that could grow into costly problems.
As well as helping you save money with simple surface repairs and treatments, regular inspections let you spot patterns in road surface deterioration. By tracking this kind of condition data, you can prioritise work to ensure quick repairs at minimal cost.
You don’t need to wait until a road surface fails to tackle growing problems. Arranging surface sealing, dressing and micro asphalt repairs while roads are still in good condition can stop potholes from appearing in the first place.
Targeted patching and surface treatments lets you avoid the cycle of repeatedly repairing the same high-risk sections. That means you can preserve your road maintenance budget for long-term improvement projects.
Emergency or reactive repairs are sometimes necessary to manage safety-critical defects. But you can limit your reliance on urgent work by arranging preventative treatments that extend road surface lifespan.
Allocate a defined portion of your budget to preventative works and scale it up as your reliance on reactive work decreases. But remember to keep some money in your budget to handle emergency repairs.
Frost, snow and rain have a big impact on the quality of road maintenance. So it’s important to plan major works during warmer months wherever possible.
However, the greatest damage typically occurs during winter. That’s why it’s important to carry out pre-season inspections and prepare for emergency patching and repairs.
One of the biggest mistakes local authorities make is thinking of their road maintenance budget as a repair budget. Instead, you should be thinking about how to make a meaningful difference to road surface lifespans with limited funds.
Prioritise larger areas for road surface treatments to extend their lifespans and delay the need for costly, disruptive resurfacing. By intervening at the right times, you can reduce your maintenance spend and consistently improve the quality of the roads in your jurisdiction.
Road surface wear is inevitable. But structural failure usually isn’t.
Most costly resurfacing projects begin as small, preventable defects. So if you can fix them early, you can improve road safety and protect your road maintenance budget.
Local authorities throughout Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Reading and the wider UK rely on Hazell & Jefferies Ltd for road surface treatments and repairs that last. Our team responds rapidly to emerging problems, solving them before they get out of hand. And we’re available to carry out full-scale resurfacing projects to the highest standards with minimal disruptions.
Contact us today to discuss your road maintenance needs and we’ll help you turn your maintenance budget into significant local change.
Potholes usually start with small cracks that let water seep beneath the road surface.
Freeze-thaw cycles expand the trapped water, weakening the surface material. Heavy traffic then causes it to break down.
Patching a pothole is fairly simple. But you also need to carry out preventative treatments like surface sealing and dressing to keep it from coming back. And it’s important to remember that high-traffic roads need specialised treatment to prevent recurring potholes.
Early treatments like road surface dressing cost far less than full resurfacing. And preventative works can extend road life by 5-15 years.
However, repeated reactive fixes increase long-term spend. Constant damage and repairs is one of the biggest signs a road surface needs to be replaced.
You should inspect roads at least annually, with more frequent checks for busy routes. This should include clearing drainage once or twice a year, especially before winter.
If carriageways are in decent condition, it’s recommended to apply surface treatments like road surface dressing every 8-12 years. Treatments can generally be applied up to 3 times before full road resurfacing becomes necessary.
The strength and quality of road surface maintenance partly depends on the weather. That’s why seasonal timing matters for public roadworks.
Road surface dressing seals and protects a structurally sound road. It’s a quick and cost-effective preventative treatment that extends surface lifespan.
Full road resurfacing involves replacing the top layer when the surface has failed. This typically occurs much later in a road’s lifecycle. It’s more disruptive and expensive, but returns the surface to peak condition.
It can take a long time for defects to appear in a new, well-laid road surface. But once they show up, they get worse fast.
Minor cracks quickly develop into potholes, which can lead to structural failing if left unfilled. As the road surface deteriorates, repairs become more expensive and safety risks increase.
Road maintenance is necessary to keep infrastructure in good condition and ensure safe driving conditions. If councils ignore road maintenance long enough, repairs and preventative treatments might not be enough to fix the underlying problems.
In these cases, full resurfacing becomes the only option, which can cause major disruptions for local residents and road users.
