Investment in our roads and footways

Resurface

Resurfacing is a road maintenance technique. It involves the removal of the top layer of a road surface and replacing it with a new layer.

Surface dress

Surface dressing is a cost-effective road maintenance technique that involves applying a thin layer of bitumen and stone chippings to the surface of a road. Sometimes it is necessary to fill in deeper potholes and defects first, before this process is completed. This is known as patching.

Retread

Retread is a recycling process which reconstructs the entire carriageway surface to a depth of 75mm, recycling the existing carriageway surface without having to remove it from site.

Why we fill potholes

The reasons we fill potholes are:

• Safety: potholes can be hazardous for all road users. They can damage vehicles, cause accidents, and pose risks to cyclists and pedestrians. By filling them promptly, we reduce these safety risks.
• Preventing further damage: potholes form when water seeps into cracks in the road, freezes, and expands, causing the pavement to break apart. If left unrepaired, these cracks can grow larger and deeper, making the damage more extensive and costly to fix in the long term.

Emergency potholes

An emergency pothole on a carriageway is defined as one deeper than 50mm and wider than 150mm. For footpaths, an emergency pothole is one that is 25mm deep and wider than 75mm. If a pothole on a carriageway falls within a designated crossing point, it is treated as part of the footpath and assessed using the footpath criteria.

Emergency potholes are a priority for quick repair, usually within 24 hours of being reported, depending on their severity and location. Roads with high traffic or near essential facilities often get a quicker response.

Why we fill a pothole rather than resurface the whole road

We fill potholes rather than resurface the whole road for the following reasons:

• Filling a pothole is a quick way to remove an immediate hazard caused by its depth. This keeps the road safer for users while minimising disruption. Larger improvement works are planned through our capital programme, which identifies sections of road that require more substantial attention. These projects take more time, planning, and resources, so temporary pothole repairs help maintain safety until those works can be delivered.
• Filling a pothole is quicker and minimises traffic disruptions. Full resurfacing is a larger project, needing more time, traffic management, and resources.
• We prioritise resources for the most critical roads, often main routes, which may be slated for resurfacing on a schedule. Pothole filling allows our roads to remain usable until they are due for resurfacing.
• Weather conditions - during certain seasons, especially winter, resurfacing may not be feasible due to weather constraints. In such cases, pothole repairs provide a temporary fix until full resurfacing can be carried out in better conditions.

Central ward

Cudworth ward

Darfield ward

Darton East ward

Darton West ward

Dearne North ward

Dearne South ward

Dodworth ward

Hoyland Milton ward

Kingstone ward

Monk Bretton ward

North East ward

Old Town ward

Penistone East ward

Penistone West ward​

Rockingham ward

Royston ward

St Helens ward

Stairfoot ward

Wombwell ward

Worsbrough ward