ROADS across the county will be improved this summer to prolong their life.

This year Gloucestershire County Council is investing £1.335m into surface dressing, which will see more than 81km of county roads treated. The programme will run from Wednesday July 19 to Sunday July 30, with work taking place at 25 different roads.

Cllr Vernon Smith, cabinet member for highways, said: “Surface dressing seals the road surface with bitumen and chippings. It’s a great way of preventing potholes from appearing and we expect this work to save local taxpayers in future road repairs.”

Surface dressing is used to extend the life of a road by sealing the surface of the road against water and air, which causes damage to the road over time.

It improves skid resistance and road safety because the chippings which are added to the bitumen binder give increased grip.

Surface dressing is for roads that are nearing the end of their life, but haven't yet started to fail.

All road markings will be repainted soon after the work is complete.

In the majority of cases, the road will be closed while the works take place, which will usually be for one or two days and short diversions will be in place.

Although the programme is published in advance, work can only be carried out in dry weather, so the schedule may need to change at short notice.

Any changes will appear both on online at www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/roads-parking-and-rights-of-way/roads/road-maintenance/ and on Twitter @GlosRoads