Derbyshire launches new road repair material trial

Derbyshire County Council has started a trial of a new pothole repairing material as a possible additional option to improve local roads.

The council is using Roadmender Asphalt which is produced in Sheffield. The repair material has a high recycled rubber content (from old HGV tyres) and is more elastic than traditional asphalt. This means it can be applied directly onto roads in need of repair as a new protective road surface where potholes or cracking damage have previously occurred. 

Using this method means there is no need to dig out the road or to seal the edges as it acts as a sealant and binds to the existing road surface, leaving a new waterproof top layer. 

The Roadmender Asphalt is heated up on site as needed and then applied as a quick-setting molten liquid. The council expects this will lead to less disruption for road users as the process can be done in less than half an hour on site, avoiding the need for longer traffic management or road closures. 

It is also good for the environment and the council’s carbon footprint as there’s no waste from digging out the road (even the marking tape and product bags can be reused back into the boiler) and the recycled lorry tyres and asphalt used in the material means less landfill too. 

Over the next few months, the county council intend to test it out in different areas, such as at junctions, pothole hotspots and areas that are starting to deteriorate before they need full resurfacing. 

It will also be used on a mix of main roads, roundabouts, rural roads and housing estate roads to assess its performance across all types or roads in the county.

The trial has started in North Derbyshire with some of the highways team being trained in how to use the product by the manufacturers.  The county council will also extend the trail to other areas over the coming months, to provide a good comparison on which areas it might work best. 

Councillor Charlotte Cupit, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Assets and Transport, commented, “It’s exciting to be bringing this new material to Derbyshire’s roads. Over the last few months we’ve been to see other areas that have started using it as well as the factory where it’s made, so it’s good to now be able to try it out across the different parts of our county. Let us know what you think if you see it near you. 

“Thank you to the crew who are getting to grips with this new material, but also to all our highways teams who have continued to work on one of the biggest road repairs and resurfacing programmes we’ve ever done following the challenges of last winter. Hopefully Roadmender will be another tool we can use to improve our roads.

“Whilst it’s right to harness new technology for road repairs and to be as efficient as possible, we also continue to push both the new regional mayor and government for the funding needed to maintain roads across the county and country. That would enable us to accelerate proactive programmes such as this.”