6:00pm Friday 3rd July 2009
By Richard Gurner
Sussex roads have not been damaged by the heat say council bosses.
According to Brighton and Hove City Council, road surfaces melting in the heat should be a thing of the past after it revealed it uses a new surfacing technique.
A spokesman for the council said: “We hope to have ended the issue of melted roads in summer by using a more modern process to surface them.
“We use a process called micro-asphalting – and it doesn’t melt when it’s hot.
“Roads which melt tend to use a tar and chippings system – tar is poured on the road and then chippings put on top, but the chippings tend to get ground into the road leaving tar exposed on the surface, which melts pretty easily in these temperatures.
“Micro-asphalting uses water to form an emulsion with oil, which causes a chemical reaction and sets hard.
“There may be one or two old hotspots left here and there which could melt but it should be becoming a thing of the past in the city.”
Both West Sussex County Council and East Sussex County Council have reported no major problems with their roads because of the heat.
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