Surface dressing

Surface dressing is a surface treatment method which seals the road surface, preventing water from entering the deeper roads structure, and protecting against further deterioration. It’s a very cost and time effective treatment method which enables us to treat large quantities of our road network relatively quickly, and helps reduce the need for more costly repairs such as resurfacing (where the road surface and underlying structure is scraped out and replaced/relaid).

Surface dressing is a relatively simple process. We prepare by removing any vegetation/loose debris on the road surface and filling any potholes. We then spray the surface with bitumen emulsion, and spread chips onto this emulsion layer, and drive over the newly laid material with a tyred roller to ‘bed in’ the chips. We then sweep the road clear of loose chips within 48 hours of treatment, a second time within 7 days and, if required, a third time within 30 days. Speed limits are put in place for a few days after treatment and must be adhered to for everyone’s safety while the chips ‘bed in’ further.

Our surface dressing activities are usually carried out in Orkney during the summer months – late June through to August – as the warmer weather is needed for the materials to cure.

The upcoming surface dressing programme is below:

Road	Parish	Duration	Start	Finish
Surface Dressing Preparation	Various	25 days	Mon 20/05/24	Fri 28/06/24
Stoneyhill Road	Harray - Full extent	3 days	Mon 01/07/24	Wed 03/07/24
Netherbrough Road	Harray - A986 to Russland Road	1 day	Thu 04/07/24	Thu 04/07/24
Hundland Road	Birsay - Wattle Road to Nisthouse Road	3 days	Fri 05/07/24	Tue 09/07/24
A966	Birsay - The Palace to Cross roads	1 day	Wed 10/07/24	Wed 10/07/24
Swartland Road	Sandwick - Warth Road to Newbigging	1 day	Thu 11/07/24	Thu 11/07/24
A967	Sandwick - Newton to Quoyloo Road	3 days	Fri 12/07/24	Tue 16/07/24
Brodgar Road	Sandwick - A967 to Buchan Cottage	4 days	Wed 17/07/24	Mon 22/07/24
Garson Road	Stromness - Cairston Road to Hamnavoe	1 day	Tue 23/07/24	Tue 23/07/24
Germiston Road	Orphir - Scows Road to Burnlea	1 day	Wed 24/07/24	Wed 24/07/24
East Road	Kirkwall - St Catherines Pl to Weyland Farm	2 days	Thu 25/07/24	Fri 26/07/24
Marwick/Mooney and Muir Drive	Kirkwall - Marwick Drive, and Helliar to Muir Road End and full extent of Mooney Drive	2 days	Mon 29/07/24	Tue 30/07/24
Foreland Road	Kirkwall - Roundabout to Old Scapa Road	1 day	Wed 31/07/24	Wed 31/07/24
Shore Road	St Andrews - Groatsetter Road to Tankerness Hall Road	2 days	Thu 01/08/24	Fri 02/08/24
A961	South Ron - Sandwick Junction to Barswick	5 days	Mon 05/08/24	Mon 12/08/24

Why do we Surface Dress?

Surface dressing is a very effective surface treatment method which seals the road surface and protects against further deterioration. In sealing the road, we prevent water penetrating the deeper road structure which can lead to potholes forming. By treating the network in this way, we can also reduce the need for more costly repairs such as resurfacing. At approximately £3.90 a square metre it is a very cost-effective treatment method which enables us to treat large quantities of our road network. This year we will be treating approximately 24km across the Birsay, Sandwick, Stromness, Harray, Kirkwall, Orphir, St Andrews and South Ronaldsay.

How do we Surface Dress?

Surface dressing is a relatively simple process. We prepare the existing surface by removing any vegetation/loose debris and fill any potholes. We then spray the surface with Bitumen Emulsion and spread chips onto this emulsion layer. To ensure the chips embed into the emulsion successfully we then drive over with a tyred roller. As vehicle movements are vital to the success of the operation we endeavour to reopen the road to traffic as soon as we can. In quieter roads the tyred roller can mimic vehicular movements to aid this process. We sweep the road clear of any loose chips within 48 hours of treatment, a second time within 7 days and, if required, a third time within 30 days. Speed limits will be on display immediately after works. It is essential that these speed limits are adhered to for road safety.

What to expect when you approach these sites.

Our top priority is the safety of our staff and other road users. We therefore require to close the road from 09:00 to 17:00 on each of the treatment days to provide the safest possible works environment. This is due to the nature of the works and the limited road widths available and will also enable us to undertake the work in a more efficient manner hopefully leading to lessened disruption and leaving a higher quality road surface. We aim to minimise any closures wherever possible. Where road widths allow, such as some of the main A-roads, we may be able to allow traffic to pass more frequently. For emergency access during the works please get in touch with us on 876338 or speak to the member of staff at the traffic control point. During these works we would be grateful for your co-operation in keeping parked vehicles off the road in the area where works are planned.

Any unauthorised access onto the site is in contravention of the Temporary Traffic Regulation Order and will be reported to Police Scotland. We also run a strict abuse policy whereby any abuse directed towards our staff will also be reported to the Police. After initial works are completed we will have speed limits on display. It is essential that these speed limits are adhered to for road safety.

We thank the vast majority of drivers who show care and appreciation towards our team however 40% of our staff indicate that they encounter dangerous driving on almost every site they work on. 77% indicate that they have experienced a near miss with passing traffic and nearly half say this is a regular occurrence. Everyone deserves a safe workplace, please help us provide that by reducing your speed through our sites. If you witness any dangerous driving or abuse directed towards our staff, please let us know.

These works are weather dependant, so the programme may vary. We will provide regular updates on our Facebook page and our website. All affected residents and businesses within these areas will be written to prior to works with further information.

We thank you for your patience whilst we undertake these works and apologise for any inconvenience caused.