There is more than one way to skin a cat as the saying goes, and there’s certainly more than one way to surface a road. Stone chip surfacing is one cheaper method that councils up and down the UK are resorting to.
It’s quite a simple method of road resurfacing, though perhaps not an ideal one. It is known as ‘surface dressing’ and the technique involves laying down a layer of softer bitumen followed by a layer of stone chipping to provide a harder surface. This stone chipping is embedded into the bitumen by passing traffic.
What’s good about surface dressing? Well, it is cheap and can be effective depending on what the surface is like. However, the downside is that depending on how it is used, you could end up with two smooth strips (where the car tyres connect with the road) and then gravelly/rough areas. In turn, depending on weather etc, the loose surface can be thrown up by tyres, hitting windscreens and leaving nasty stone chip marks in paintwork.
You can find out more about road treatments at the Road Surface and Treatments Association official website.
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