Since the massive road building projects undertaken since the rise of the automobile's popularity mostly since the Second World War, roads have been proven to 'have a life.' No country is immune even those with much milder climates such as the UK.
More than 800 roads in Surrey are to be given "pothole proof" coatings over the next three years in an initiative to overhaul more than 300 miles of road.
By Ben Farmer
The council, which is believed to be the first in the country to use the technique, has already lined up 177 roads to be rebuilt this year.
Engineers will rebuild the roads from scratch and then apply a pothole-resistant coating of special ‘Superflex’ asphalt that is highly water resistant and flexible.
By going back to the road’s foundations, engineers say they will also make the roads more resistant to vibrations and movement, meaning less damage.
A spokesman for the council said: “We are not just slapping on another coat of asphalt, we are digging up the road and going back to bare bones. We're relaying the entire foundations."
The council has in the past been criticised for having some of the worst potholed roads in the country.
Surrey earlier this year ranked top across the country for compensation pay outs to motorists whose cars had suffered pothole damage. Research by the RAC Foundation found motorists received a total of nearly £250,000 in successful pothole compensation claims from the local authority.
Drivers made 4,000 claims for damage, with the council paying out on 842 occasions. Across the country, nearly 50,000 motorists made claims, the foundation estimated.
A 2013 survey by the AA found more than a third of its members have suffered pothole damage to their cars in the previous two years.
Jason Russell, the council’s assistant director for highways, said: “We can’t go on papering over the cracks with quick fixes to tired old roads forever.
The council, which is believed to be the first in the country to use the technique, has already lined up 177 roads to be rebuilt this year.
Engineers will rebuild the roads from scratch and then apply a pothole-resistant coating of special ‘Superflex’ asphalt that is highly water resistant and flexible.
By going back to the road’s foundations, engineers say they will also make the roads more resistant to vibrations and movement, meaning less damage.
A spokesman for the council said: “We are not just slapping on another coat of asphalt, we are digging up the road and going back to bare bones. We're relaying the entire foundations."
The council has in the past been criticised for having some of the worst potholed roads in the country.
Surrey earlier this year ranked top across the country for compensation pay outs to motorists whose cars had suffered pothole damage. Research by the RAC Foundation found motorists received a total of nearly £250,000 in successful pothole compensation claims from the local authority.
Drivers made 4,000 claims for damage, with the council paying out on 842 occasions. Across the country, nearly 50,000 motorists made claims, the foundation estimated.
A 2013 survey by the AA found more than a third of its members have suffered pothole damage to their cars in the previous two years.
Jason Russell, the council’s assistant director for highways, said: “We can’t go on papering over the cracks with quick fixes to tired old roads forever.
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