MORE than 100 miles of roads in Worcestershire wrecked by cracks and holes are about to get a £3 million repair job.

Worcestershire County Council is launching a new attempt to restore many routes battered by the winter’s harsh weather by using the controversial process of surface dressing.

The process is a quicker alternative to full-scale pothole repairs and is meant to prolong the life of a road for eight to 10 years, depending on the weather.

Stone chippings are used to seal a damaged area, allowing traffic to drive straight over it immediately.

The council says the project, which was launched last week, will carry on until July and cover the whole of Worcestershire.

Drivers are warned that on freshly laid surface-dressed patches, loose stone chippings may spray up at first. This is one of the reasons the process is often unpopular among motorists, who are kept to a 20mph speed limit while the surface stabilises.

There will also be temporary traffic lights in use on routes where the work is taking place.

Highways manager Jon Fraser said: “We’re really pleased to have our surface dressing programme under way. After the cold winter we’re looking to get roads back to the best condition they can be as soon as possible.

“Inevitably there will be some inconvenience whilst works are under way but this is being kept to an absolute minimum.

“We’re grateful for patience from residents and businesses while the works are being carried out, and with a little extra caution drivers can be using roads again as soon as the surface dressing has been applied.”

Six weeks ago we reported a large pothole in Church Lane, Norton.

Bruce Steatham, aged 68, of Littleworth, was among a number of drivers who hit it, leaving him with a £60 repair bill. He said: “Some of the roads in Worcestershire are awful.

“I remember hitting the one in Norton and my whole car shook. It’s not a nice experience at all.

“I don’t mind a bit of disruption as long as the job is done. Well, let’s face it, something needs to happen because if they leave it until next winter, we’re all stuffed.”

The county council says 200 potholes are being filled in every day after the winter, and that it has responsibility for 2,500 miles of road in total.

Full-scale road resurfacing can cost three times as much as surface dressing Because surface dressing cannot be done in wet weather, the council decided to wait until now to launch the project.