Reading pavements to be improved with innovative method

The new technique involves applying a barrier coating on pavements that seeps into the existing surface to preserve and rejuvenate it.

This method extends the life of the pavement and reduces the need for expensive and time-consuming reconstruction.

The treatment is being trialled at three sites across Reading: Commercial Avenue, Shirley Avenue, and Sun Street.

It is intended for pavements in relatively good condition but showing signs of deterioration.

It also has a lower carbon footprint, as the treatment is cold-applied, and a reduction in inconvenience to residents, as the process takes one day instead of a week.

Councillor Karen Rowland and a member of the Council Highways team apply the pavement coating (Image: Reading Borough Council)

It also extends the pavement's life by up to 10 years before resurfacing is required.

The council's in-house team can carry out the preservation, reducing time and costs associated with hiring contractors.

The new method forms part of a wider investment in Reading's roads and pavements.

In August, the council began a £4.5 million main road resurfacing programme, set to improve 76 sections of major roads over two years.

This is part of an £8 million investment that will see many residential roads improved over five years, with around 100 more residential roads set to be resurfaced later this financial year.

The council's biggest ever road resurfacing programme, which included a £9 million investment in more than 700 newly resurfaced residential roads over three years, has already yielded results, with 80 per cent of Reading’s residential roads now classed as being in 'good' condition, up from 35 per cent before the improvement programme began in 2019.

Karen Rowland, lead councillor for environmental services and community safety, said: "We know how important getting – and keeping – our roads and footways in good condition is to residents, and that’s why we continue to work hard and to find smarter and more environmentally friendly ways of delivering just that.

"Alongside current work to improve main roads, and upcoming plans to improve even more residential roads to a higher standard, this trial has shown us how we can minimise time for pavement repair for residents from a week to a single day.

"The fact that it saves money and resource is testimony to our highways team who are constantly looking at ways to save money, maximise resources and improve and sustain our assets."

The council plans to roll out the new technique as a borough-wide footway preservation programme next year.

The council is one of the first in the UK to trial this innovative technique.

The method not only saves time and money but also minimises inconvenience for residents.