Micro surfacing

Local access

Pedestrian access will be maintained at all times. Vehicular access to private properties will be maintained when safe to do so, at the discretion of site supervisors.

It's very unlikely residents will be refused entry, but short delays may occur (for instance if work is taking place near their property or on the drive up to it). Residents are asked to speak to members of staff on site, and they will accommodate as much as possible to their accessibility needs.

Closures

The road will be closed to through traffic for the duration of the works. This will be indicated by barriers and temporary traffic signs, as well as marshals located at the main junctions leading to the road. The road will be opened back to traffic as soon as works are completed.

Parking restrictions

Prohibition of parking will apply from the night before works start. This is to enable works to be carried out from kerb to kerb, ensure safety of operatives and road users and avoid damage to parked vehicles.

The contractor will place leaflets on parked cars a few days in advance, and no parking cones will be placed the night before. Cars that have not been moved by the morning when the works start, will be relocated by the contractor using a lift and shift vehicle. These cars will typically be placed in the adjacent road. If you believe your car may have been moved in this way, please check with our highways correspondence team on 02083 593 555.

Pre patching

Where necessary a patching gang will repair existing pot holes, badly damaged areas of the carriageway, etc. on the days before surfacing takes place. There are a variety of methods that may be applied, such as in situ recycling (infrared equipment heats up existing material, takes it up and relays it). Depending on size and location, this might require partial closure of the road for a short period of time (a few hours). For site-specific details please contact CA.

Road markings

Depending on timing and size of each job, subcontractors may not be able to reinstate all road markings before reopening the road on the day. If this is the case, safety critical markings will be reinstated on the day, and the remaining shortly after. While it will not be necessary to close the road for this operation, temporary speed limit will apply to ensure safety of operatives and residents. Please also be prepared to move parked vehicles if necessary to reinstate markings at a specific location.

Micro surfacing treatment

Micro surfacing is a type of carriageway surface treatment used to prolong the life of a road by 10-15 years.

The purpose is to seal the road surface by applying and rolling a layer of bituminous mix material as a new surface layer. This material will also correct surface texture and small undulations and cracks. Micro surfacing is quicker, less noisy and cleaner than traditional carriageway resurfacing because it is not necessary to remove large volumes of existing carriageway surface. It also restores the road surface to a good, safe state for many years ahead if applied at the right point of the road’s life.

We aim to maximise the number of roads treated this way, allowing us to cover a larger portion of Barnet’s road network, ensuring road user’s safety while optimising investment and minimising disruption.

Selection process

The list of roads to be treated this way during the 2016/17 financial year was compiled by identifying roads that are at the middle stages of the deterioration process so that the proposed treatment will seal any carriageway cracks and prevent further damage.

This treatment also eliminates localised irregularities on the road surface, restoring the appropriate surface texture, grip and skid resistance. For this treatment to be effective it needs to be applied at mid-stages of deterioration. Roads that have been inspected and exceed the threshold for Micro surfacing will need to be fully resurfaced.