'Major funding shortfall' forces North Yorkshire Council to launch cheaper highways treatments for county's roads
North Yorkshire Council is to adopt a new policy on pothole repairs across the county’s vast network of roads to counter an “unexpected multi-million pound budget shortfall”.
The council’s highways maintenance teams will employ new techniques to prevent potholes and defects opening up in roads for the first time this summer.
The Reclamite treatment is already being used on the local access road that runs parallel to the A1(M) between Leeming Bar and Catterick, on the bypass that links Bedale and Leeming Bar, as well as roads near Topcliffe.
The preventative treatment involves a solution being sprayed on a carriageway that rejuvenates the asphalt.
This helps to prevent cracks and defects opening up that can lead to potholes and further damage to a road surface.
The new initiative comes as North Yorkshire Council warns that its highways maintenance budgets have been hit by rising costs due to inflation and pressures on the supply chain.
The council says it is also facing an unexpected multi-million pound shortfall over the next four years after changes in the way funding is allocated through the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.
Coun Malcolm Taylor, North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for highways and transportation, said: “We are looking at increasingly innovative ways to deliver our highways maintenance programmes, which is vital as we face major pressures on our budgets.
"Our highways teams are at the forefront of efforts to make sure services are delivered as effectively and efficiently as possible.
“While we are facing very significant financial challenges, we are committed to maintaining the county’s extensive networks of roads and offering the very best value for our taxpayers.”
The Reclamite treatment, which is being provided by a company called Roadtechs, is more environmentally friendly and dramatically reduces both carbon dioxide emissions and waste, while ensuring roads stay in a better condition for longer.
Each treatment extends the life of a road by five years and can be repeated.
The council says it is quicker, easier and cheaper to deliver compared to resurfacing schemes, helping to reduce overall costs by as much as 40 per cent.