Surface dressing is underway to repair suitable roads across Dorset as part of the annual programme of road maintenance work.
This year, Dorset Highways’ surface dressing gang will be starting in the west of the county and will then travel to northern and eastern roads in need of repair, before ending the season near Dorchester.
Surface dressing prolongs the life of roads by providing a waterproof seal, while also improving skid resistance. It forms a vital part of Dorset Highways’ annual road maintenance programme, alongside patching, micro-surfacing, in-situ recycling, road preservation and resurfacing treatments.
Using a variety of surface treatments ensures that more of Dorset Council’s roads get repaired with the budget available, compared to using resurfacing alone.
The best treatment is selected based on the severity of damage and how deep the damage is, as well as considering how heavily trafficked the road is and the types of vehicles using it.
About the work
Our surface dressing gang is working 9am to 4pm in urban areas and 8am to 4pm in rural areas.
Surface dressing doesn’t take long and the road can be driven on as soon as it’s finished. Depending on the length of the road you live on, the road will be closed for around 1-2 hours while the treatment takes place.
There will be an advisory 20mph speed limit after the work while the loose stones ‘bed down’ into the bitumen. Travelling at this reduced speed will prevent skidding on the loose chippings, help ‘bed down’ the material and will save your paint work!
We sweep the road one to two days after the work to get rid of excess stones. White lining reinstatement will follow on from this and is generally a week or so later.
Dry weather & daytime only
We can’t work overnight as surface dressing relies on the evaporation of water from the bitumen binder (glue) for it to set, and it needs traffic to travel on the new surface for it to ‘bed down’ and lock onto the old surface.
We also cannot work in wet weather – any amount of rain or surface water dilutes the bitumen and so doesn’t hold the chippings in place – which is why our surface dressing programme runs from April through to September.
As this treatment is so weather dependent, dates are subject to change. Please look out for advance information boards, which will also be updated if there is any change in schedule.
Please use our online form to report road-related issues/damage. This goes directly to the local community highways officer for assessment.
Please remember you can check where we are working using the online roadworks map.
June
West Lane, Melbury Abbas – A350 to B3081
White Pit Lane, Melbury Abbas – C13 To B3081
New Road, Ashmore – Boundary Road at Possessions Corner to C75
Woodley Lane, Ashmore – C75 North Road to adoption end
Green Lane, Ashmore – C75 High Street to Jct Stickway, Mudoak Farm entrance
North Road, Ashmore – Jct D32212 Woodley Lane to Jct B3081 near Wiltshire county boundary
C75, Ashmore – Jct parish boundary at eastern edge of Balfour’s Wood to Jct Halfpenny Lane
Sutton Hill, Sutton Waldron – A350 To C13
Church Street, Fontmell Magna – A350 to C52
C52, Fontmell Magna – Jct C138, Bedchester, to near Pen Hill Farm,
Woodbridge Lane, Fontmell Magna – C52 to end of road
Hannahs Hill, Hartgrove – B3091 to Jct C52
C138, Bedchester – Jct D31502 Hawkcombe Lane, Twyford, to C52 Crossroads, Bedchester
Dark Lane, Fifehead Neville – Jct D31808 Green Lane to Jct C98 Crate Hill
Main Street, Shroton – Frog Lane to C138
Home Farm Road, Tarrant Gunville – D32402 Jct to adoption end
Bussy Stool Road, Tarrant Gunville
Allenview Road, Wimborne – Burts Hill to Hanham Road
Beaucroft Road, Colehill – C50 Wimborne Road to Beaucroft Lane
Beaufort Lane, Wimborne – Northleigh Lane to end bollards
Northleigh Lane, Wimborne – C50 Wimborne Road to B3073 Leigh Road
Little Lonnen, Wimborne – Colehill Lane to Lonnen Road
Lonnen Road, Colehill – C50 Middlehill Road to Pilford Lane
Hardy Close, West Moors – Shaftesbury Road to cul-de-sac end
Hardy Road, West Moors – Hardy Close to Elmhurst Road
Maloran Way, West Moors – Heathfield Road to Southern Avenue
Southern Avenue, West Moors – Heathfield Road to Uplands Road
Heathfield Road, West Moors – Pinehurst Road to Uplands Road
Glenwood Road, West Moors – B3072 to Moorlands Road
Farm Road, West Moors
Wattons Lane, Avon Heath – Hurn Road to pumping station
Boundary Lane, Matchams – A31 to Hurn Road
Cross Lanes, Melcombe Horsey – Jct C34 X-Roads to end of road
Melcombe Park, Ansty – Cothayes Drove to Melcombe Park Farm
Coniger Knap, Higher Ansty – Jct D30608 Stoke Lane to Jct D33317 Ansty Hollow
C34, Higher Antsy – Jct C139 to Stoke Wake to Jct D30608 Stoke Lane
Stoke Lane, Hazelbury Bryan – Jct Quar Close to Jct C34, Mappowder
The Green, Hazelbury Bryan – C97 Hammond Street to Jct Quar Close, Mappowder
C20, Hazelbury Bryan – Jct C97, Mappowder to parish boundary at Povert Bridge
Piccadilly Lane, Holwell – Jct C71 to end of road, near Packer’s Hill
Holwell Drove – Jct C73, Sandhills, to Jct unclassified road
Chaston Lane, Buckland Newton – Jct Castle Lane to end of road, Brockhampton Green
Spring Lane, Buckland Newton – Jct B3146 to Jct C19, near Duntish
Cat Lane, Buckland Newton – Jct Hilling Lane to Jct Cranes Meadow
London Row, Piddlehinton – Jct B3143 to end of road
Back Lane, Cerne Abbas – Jct C19 to Jct C110
East Street (footpath), Sydling St Nicholas – Jct Waterside Lane to Jct C111
You may also be interested in:
Lee Lane received a surface repair last month. Already there are four quite bad patches already in need of further repair – on descending the lane there are two bad patches just before the Stepps Farm turning and two further ones in the lower part of the lane near the gate to a field just after the turning to Stepps Farm.
Hi Myra, thanks for getting in touch – I’ll pass these comments on to the site agent. If anything’s not quite gone as planned, it’s usually picked up in the post-work assessment.
It’s a waste of time and money putting chipping down, all it does is cover the broken road not fix it. You only have to look at Wellington Road in Bournemouth the road surface has worn away and left a void in the surface that then gets a bit of liquid tar and chipping, result a void that is still there just thinly cover.
Hi Philip, you may wish to report this damage to BCP Council, which maintains roads in this area: https://www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/Roads-and-transport/Roads-and-transport.aspx
I have just searched through the resurfacing sites for April, May and June and there is no work being carried out in Swanage or the Isle of Purbeck. May I remind you we are also part of Dorset and our roads are in a terrible state with numerous potholes and uneven surfaces. I hope we may see some work scheduled for later in the year when the holiday season is over.
Hi David, sorry there’s nothing on the list in your area this time round. Over 20 roads within the Isle of Purbeck (mainly in Swanage) were part of our micro-surfacing last year and we’ve just (in April) resurfaced Woolbridge Roundabout. You can keep an eye on what work is scheduled using the online map: https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/travel/travel-dorset/roadworks-closures-and-events-map.aspx and please continue to report road damage to us for investigation: https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/roads-highways-maintenance/report-a-problem-on-the-road-or-pavement.aspx
My road surface DT4 9UQ is in need of a top dressing. In places the top surface has gone revealing the sub layer hardcore.
How do I get my road added to the list of roads for future consideration?
Hi Michael, the best thing is to report this surface damage using our online form: https://dorset-self.achieveservice.com/service/Report-a-pothole This will be passed on to the local community highway officer for inspection, and then they’ll recommend it for any further action where necessary.
You mention Beaucroft Road, from the junction of Wimborne Road to the junction of Beaucroft Lane. It shows on the schedule for June 2021 but nothing has been done as yet. This is a particularly bad surface especially near the Wimborne Road end.