MORE than 350 of Worcestershire’s roads are to be resurfaced after a £3.8 million investment from the county council.

The money will be used to fund the council’s largest programme of surface dressing, which involves spraying on a coating of bitumen to waterproof the road, followed by one or more layers of stone chippings to restore skid resistance.

Work will take place from Saturday, April 14, and will last until August – during which time about 1.78 million square metres of road will be dressed.

Councillor John Smith, responsible for highways and transport, said: “This is the most extensive surface dressing programme we have ever undertaken and the investment shows we’re as committed as ever to improving things for those using our roads.

“What this allows us to do is catch a road half-way through its lifespan and give it an extension.

“It’s something that has been used successfully for a number of years and it offers great value for money as catching things at this stage removes the need for even more costlier work in the future.

“Obviously, as this work moves quickly around the county there will be the potential for some disruption, but everything will be done to keep this to an absolute minimum and the great advantage of this type of improvement is that the job gets done very quickly.”

The new surface should reduce the chances of potholes developing by preventing water from seeping into the road foundation and weakening it.

It can be laid quickly and traffic can run on it almost immediately, preventing the need for lengthy closures and disruption.

Drivers will be restricted to speeds of 20mph for the first 24 hours afterwards.