Peterborough's drought damaged roads could be shut and take months to repair

Roads and cycleways that have been left cracked and damaged by drought in Peterborough this year could take months to repair, it has been revealed.

The lack of moisture in the soil under the roads throughout the prolonged summer means it has shrunk, causing the surface to become uneven as cracks appear.

This has taken its toll particularly on the rural roads, many of which are built on peat and clay subsoils. It has also affected several offroad cycleways and footways.

Peterborough City Council are working with contractors Milestone to identify the roads, cycleways and footways that need repairing. Unfortunately, due to the volume of roads affected full repairs may not be carried out immediately and some roads may close until work can be completed.

The city council said it is not possible to prevent drought affecting roads in the future, so they repair using the most appropriate method for the issue. Cracking roads need some form of reconstruction whereas an uneven rural road may be repaired using insitu-recycling. This involves grinding the road, mixing it with dry cement, levelling it and then adding a new surface course over the top which results in a flatter road.

Marco Cereste, cabinet member for planning, housing and transport, says “Drought is becoming more of an issue for our city’s roads than ever before. The volume of highway affected seems to be greater than recent years and in some cases the damage is greater.

“We are working as quick as we can to repair the damaged roads, but due to the volume of highway affected and budget availability we may not be able to carry out full repairs immediately and some repairs may have to wait until the next financial year. There may be temporary repairs, warning signs, cyclist dismount signs and temporary lower speed limits whilst the repairs are being done. We apologise for any inconvenience caused by these repairs.”