Dorset Highways carries out patching work across the network to repair sections of damaged road across the county council area.

The list of sites needing patching work is put together based on information from Community Highway Officer inspections, carriageway defect data, and mobile surveys.

Engineers then visit the sites and identify which sections of road need repairing and decide what is the most suitable treatment. The site is then added to the scheduled list of work.

Carrying out road patching

The part of road to be treated can vary in size and location – edge of the road, one side of road, middle of road – and some roads will need more than one area patched along its length.

The start time will vary depending on traffic flows, location and extent of patching work, however, work will typically start on site at 9am and finish at 4pm to avoid ‘rush hour’ traffic.

Where there is space for vehicles to pass, stop/go boards or traffic lights will be used to manage traffic safely around the site. Where there is insufficient space to let vehicles pass safely, roads will need to be briefly closed during the work.

Equipment used for patching

The equipment used on site is:

  • mini-planer (skid-steer bob-cat)
  • 7.5 tonne lorry (transporting and disposal of damaged road surface)
  • 3.5 tonne vans (transporting operatives and equipment)
  • twin roller (to compact the new material)
  • 20 tonne insulated lorry (transport of new hot material)

Some road patching sites are repaired to prepare them for surface dressing the following year.

Scheduled work can be seen on the roadworks map.