Dorset’s roads are an essential part of the economic and social wellbeing of our communities.
We carry out proactive work to ensure our highways stay in the best condition possible, reducing the need for reactive repairs and to maintain highway safety.
This work covers:
- roads
- footways
- cycleways
- drainage
- signs
- road markings
Funding
Money for highway maintenance is provided by the Department for Transport (DfT) and from the council’s own budget.
Dorset Council Highways maintenance
Dorset Council Highway’s annual capital funding supports maintenance strategies and activities that are linked to Dorset Council priorities documented in the Council Plan.
The maintenance of our roads, footways and highways infrastructure such as bridges and traffic signals is predominantly funded by:
- UK Government grants in the form of Maintenance Block and Incentive funding
- Pothole Funds
- Network North funding
These support highway maintenance investment strategies to manage road condition and keep highway users safe.
Since 2021, his funding has been topped up by Dorset Council funding, further supporting highways improvements.
The table below illustrates the trend in highway maintenance capital funding in Dorset.
Government funding
Network North Funding
The UK Government announced additional funding for Dorset Council Highways, diverted from the HS2 project. This is £2.068million for both 2023/24 and 2024/25.
This funding is being invested into managing Dorset’s road conditions and reducing, preventing and repairing potholes and other road defects.
It will be invested into resurfacing approximately 11 miles of carriageway and permanently patching approximately 28,000m2 of failing roads.
The resurfacing sites have been identified using recorded defect information that focusses on clusters on individual roads or sections of roads. This is combined with innovative artificial intelligence technology, using images collected during driven safety inspections. It is then converted into a road condition assessment and specific road defects, which informs our programme of patching.
We will also be ensuring our patch repairs are permanent and addresses the wider failing area, to reduce the future risk of potholes.
Dorset Council funding
£6.03million from the council’s own budget will be used for increased preventative maintenance to preserve the condition of its roads, repairing roads before cracking or potholes appear.
Better for the environment
The council has introduced a number of innovative methods to repair its roads, and is trialling new processes too.
Whenever possible, a road’s existing materials are re-used by mixing with a binding product to form a road construction layer. This removes the need to produce new material and in some cases when mixed in-situ, the need to transport heavy aggregates to the site.
We have engaged with specialist contractors to trial thermal patching, which will reduce CO2 emissions by heating up existing asphalt (tarmac like surface), adding new materials, called binder or aggregates, and recompacting at the road to form a permanent seamless repair.
Public utilities working on the highway
How are we protecting our networks from statutory undertaker works
Utility companies working on the highway are known as statutory undertakers. These are typically companies responsible for electric, gas, telecommunications, and water supplies. They are legally allowed under this status to undertake certain works in or under the highway network, under the street works sections of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991.
Dorset Council operates a permitting scheme to control all highway works.
We also conduct quarterly coordination meetings with statutory undertakers and coordinate their proposed works against highway maintenance activities.
Dorset Council also applies for Section 58 notices on all conventional resurfacing works, which protects new surfaces from being dug up.
Works Programme for 2024
All maintenance is weather dependant, and heavy rain or unforeseen circumstances on the site could stop work. It will be rescheduled to the next available date. This information will shared via information boards on-site.
Signs are erected in advance of works starting, and residents directly affected are notified by letter. This will include the hours of work and parking arrangements during the work. Onsite team members will also be available to answer residents’ queries.
Find all planned roadworks on the Dorset Council map, including description of work, roads affected, dates and times.