Dorset Council gets HS2 cash to repair roads and potholes

The county is to get a share of funding redirected from the scrapped northern legs of the HS2 project which is being shared on transport infrastructure schemes around the country.

An extra £2.068 million each for the next two years is set to bolster Dorset's roads, including for more pothole repairs, resurfacing and preventative treatments to maintain highway safety.

Along with the share of the Department for Transport's Network North fund, Dorset Council is also allocating an additional £6.03 million from its own budget to invest in more proactive maintenance to preserve the condition of roads.

While the extra money has been welcomed, Bridport councillor Dave Rickard isn't hopeful much work will be done in the town.

He said: "Anything that trickles down from Westminster is always welcome. We shouldn’t be grateful for little handouts, it’s quite a demeaning regime we’ve got at the moment.

"Dorset Council had to reduce the amount of money passed on to parishes and towns over the year. Luckily for Bridport we tend to get on with things and are good at getting grants."

He added: "We have had work done recently on roads and they aren’t as bad as some of the more rural roads. I don’t hold out too much expectation of large amounts of work being done in Bridport.

“As it’s a tourist destination it’s always good to give a good impression. One thing that puts people off coming to the area is if it looks run down. Any money is good because there’s never enough to do everything.

“The problem is that the work is quite weather dependent. There’s been an awful lot of rain and roads have been damaged. That’s a problem. So it’s almost impossible to second guess how much work needs doing. Because of the way finances are dealt with these days, it’s very much hand to mouth when they do repairs. They’re not always as long-lasting as they would have been."

Pothole repairs include extensive patching of the wider area surrounding the damaged road,  and aims to reduce the likelihood of further potholes forming.

A new method, called thermal patching will also be tested. This will reduce CO2 emissions by heating up existing asphalt to form a permanent seamless repair.

Resurfacing takes place throughout most of the year and rebuilds various layers of a road to restore its strength and shape.

The council's maintenance strategy also includes preventative techniques to address specific road conditions.

This includes surface dressing, which seals roads from water damage and restores skid resistance, as well as micro-surfacing, which fills shallow cracks and holes, smoothing out small dips and bumps in the surface.

Cllr Ray Bryan, Portfolio Holder for highways, travel and environment, said: “This extra funding will help us speed up our programme, reaching more roads before cracking or potholes appear, fixing potholes or making bigger repairs.

“This investment will help us keep our network in a good condition and reduce the number of reactive repairs.”

Cllr Bryan has emphasised the importance of proactive maintenance measures.

He added: “It has been proven that early, preventative maintenance is the most cost-effective way to maintain roads.”

Busy routes that are still in a good condition will also receive preservation treatment, and minor roads with visible defects, uneven surfaces, sunken areas, potholes and cracking will be repaired with in-situ recycling. 

Further works will take place later this year as part of the council’s regular programme of works and surveys are also taking place to allocate sites for preservation or repair.

Details of these work will be publicised in advance of the works starting. Residents and businesses directly affected will be notified in advance of the works.

A full list of where the Network North funded schemes covering 11 miles of road resurfacing and 28,000m2 of permanent patching can be seen below: 

Resurfacing currently in progress for 2023/24

• Factory Lane, Buckland Newton
• Glen Avenue, Weymouth
• Dundee Road, Weymouth
• High Street, Fordington
• Holloway Road, Dorchester
• North Allington, Bridport
• Church Row, Hilton
• Angel Lane ,Shaftesbury
• Lambsgreen Lane, Corfe Mullen
• Brog Street, Corfe Mullen
• Leigh Road, Wimborne
• New Road, Parley Cross
• B3078 Fordingbridge Road, Alderholt
• Woolsbridge Road, St Ives
• Newtown Lane, Verwood
• Bay Road, Gillingham
• New Road, Sherborne
• A37, Stratton To Grimstone
•  

Patching (thermal trial) in progress or complete

• Dorchester Road, Weymouth
• Abbotsbury Road, Weymouth
• Kings Road, Weymouth
• Damers Road, Dorchester
• Fortuneswell, Portland
• High Street, Portland
•  

Patching (conventional) – March 2024

• High Street, Yetminster
• New Street Lane junction to junction Wells Plot 
• Benville Lane, Dorchester
• A354 Monkton Hill - Winterborne Herringston junction To Ridgeway
• B3390 Warmwell Road, North Warmwell
• Opposite Bull Inn, Coast Road
• Poundbury Crescent, Dorchester
• C126 Herringston Road, Dorchester
• Damers (Service) Road, Dorchester
• A356 Winyards Gap, Nr Chedington
• C80 Hollow Hill, Near Studio School (Kingston Maurward)
• Cockpit Hill Broadwindsor to Birdsmoorgate
• C53 Mallards Green, Martinstown 
• A353 Littlemoor Road, Weymouth
• C53 Martinstown
• B3390 Nr Waddock Cross
• Main Road, Alton Pancras
• Drimpton Road, Broadwindsor
• C28 Tollerford Lane

2024/25 financial year

Resurfacing

• Sutton Road, Sutton Poyntz (Section by Springhead Pub)
• Kirtleton Avenue - Carlton Road South to Avenue Road Weymouth
• Rip Croft, Portland
• Noah Henville Corner, Winterborne Kingston
• Wares Close, Winterborne Kingston
• High Street, Child Okeford
• Smugglers Lane, Colehill
• Church Street, Upwey Weymouth
• Southover Farm access road Tolpuddle
• Shillingstone Lane, Okeford Fitzpaine
• Knoll Lane, Corfe Mullen
• Waterloo Road, Corfe Mullen
• Meerhay Lane, Wootton Fitzpaine
• Hermitage to Holnest Park Farmhouse
• Camesworth Lane, Oxbridge
• Penny Street, Sturminster Newton
• Well Lane, Shaftesbury
• Allotment Hill, Ibberton
• Leigh Lane, Ibberton
• St Georges Road – From A35 flyover to business park
•  

Patching

• A348 Ringwood Road, Ferndown 
• Canford Bottom, Wimborne
• Burton Road, Bridport
• West Moors Road, Three Legged Cross
• Stapehill Road, Wimborne
• Newtown Road, Verwood
• Burnbake, Verwood
• Cranborne Road, Fordingbridge
• Reap Lane, Portland
• St Georges Road, Dorchester – From junction with Allington Road to Wilson Road