Somerset Council’s new partner Kiely Bros launched the next phase of its surface treatment schedule on roads across the county this week.

This year’s programme is the biggest in at least four years and will see 1,000,000 sqm of road surface dressed, equivalent to 141 football pitches. This treatment is a greener and more cost-effective form of maintenance, helping to improve the road network whilst emitting significantly less carbon compared to alternative solutions.

Following an extensive pre-patching and preparation works programme throughout the spring and early summer, road surface specialist Kiely Bros, which signed a four-year contract in April, is now delivering the Council’s extensive surface dressing programme incorporating major and minor roads, along with residential streets across the county.

Surface dressing is a nationally recognised maintenance technique for sealing a road, improving skid resistance, and preventing water getting under the surface. This is crucial to help stop potholes forming. It works by coating an existing road surface with bitumen, covering it with stone chippings and then rolling it. It can only be carried out in dry weather, so the programme is flexible, and dates can change at short notice.

In some cases, a secondary treatment ‘Kiely Lock’ is applied a couple of weeks later. It is designed to further lock in loose chippings on the road surface and give the dressing the best life span.

The busy surface dressing programme is either being done under short-term road closures or under stop-go signs depending on location. The road will only be closed for one-day within the stated period.

Advanced notice will be given to communities and road users.

Some key schemes coming up (but may be subject to change):

• Canal Road in Ilminster under stop/go signs – 13 to 17 August, 9.30am to 3.30pm
• Greenway Road in Bishops Lydeard under closure – 15 to 17 August, 9.30am to 12pm
• A396 Wheddon Cross to Bridgetown Road under closure – 15 to 16 August, 7am to 7pm
• A37 Fosse Way, Lydford on the Fosse under closure – 9.30am to 3.30pm, 17 and 19 to 20 August
• A359 Frome Road, Bruton – 18 to 20 August, 9.30am to 3.30pm

Somerset Council’s Lead Member for Highways and Digital, Councillor Richard Wilkins said:

Kiely Bros offer a specialist, efficient, high-tech approach which will see the biggest surfacing dressing programme in years.

This underlines our commitment to major investment in our roads and infrastructure to keep the county running.

Surface dressing and surface treatments are critically important when it comes to prolonging the life of our roads and preventing the need for more invasive and costly intervention and reducing the likelihood of potholes forming.

Mike Kiely, Managing Director of Kiely Bros Ltd said:

Our whole team at Kiely Bros are delighted to be working in Somerset again, this time as a principal contractor.

It’s fantastic to see the local authority taking preventative measures to seal and improve their road network for years to come and we look forward to completing this year’s programme.

We have worked closely with Somerset Council since last year to plan this programme of works and we would like to everyone involved for their continued cooperation and support.

As well as surface dressing the team from Kiely will be carrying out footway crack sealing, preparatory drainage, patching and cleaning, as well as post surfacing road markings, studs and high friction surfacing.

For more information and to see an interactive map, visit the Council’s Surface Dressing page.

During the spring and early summer, you may have seen an innovative new vehicle out and about, the Multipatcher. You can find out more about the Multipatcher by watching the following video:

If you spot a problem on the road you can report it quickly and easily via the Council’s Report a problem on the road webpage.