A local authority says it has identified “issues” with surface dressings on a number of road repairs carried out last year.
Cheshire East Council said as part of its routine inspections it uncovered the problems with work completed on the A34 Maclean Way / Birrell Way in Wilmslow; the A500 Shavington Bypass near Crewe; the A49 Whitchurch Road near Nantwich; the A54 Buxton Road near Congleton; and the A533 London Road / Middlewich Road in Sandbach.
The treatment carried out on these roads, which is used widely by councils across the country, is intended to seal the road and prevent water from getting in, the council said.
The authority said there were no safety concerns with the roads, but that they expected the works to be completed to the required standards for a treatment of this type.
Officials were planning to carry out further improvement works when the weather is more suitable, they said – and this was likely to take place in May.
This work would be carried out at no extra cost to the council, they added.
‘No issues before’
“Over the past few years, almost 609,000 sqm of this treatment has been laid in Cheshire East and we have not experienced issues like this in the borough before,” a spokesperson said.
“Of this, just under 26,000 sqm has been affected by these issues – around 11 per cent of the 231,000 sqm delivered last year.”
They added: “In most cases, including with the A500, only a section of the road is affected and not the full length of where works were carried out.
“We are working with our contractor responsible for the works to understand the cause and a full and thorough investigation is being carried out.”
The council apologised for any inconvenience and said it wanted to reassure residents that it was committed to managing the impact of the works and ensuring its roads were safe.
“Since being made aware of the issues, we have been carrying out regular monitoring and inspection of each road, along with regular sweeping to remove any excess chippings from the road,” they said.
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