MORE than 200 roads have been upgraded in the county since April as part of a £3.5million project being run by Worcestershire Highways.

A team has been travelling around the county to replace around 100 miles of road surface, with surface dressing, which involves spraying on a coating of bitumen to waterproof the roads, followed by one or more layers of stone chippings to restore skid resistance.

Worcestershire County council has said the treatment is 10 times more cost effective than other methods of repairing potholes, and causes minimum traffic disruption because of how quickly it can be applied.

Cllr John Smith OBE, county council cabinet member for highways, said: "The team has worked really hard since the programme started in April and the weather has been kind meaning they have been able to get through an amazing amount of work to ensure the Worcestershire-side improvement scheme has been completed on time.

"We know by listening to residents that improving our roads is a priority, which is why we've invested more than £50million over the last few years into doing just that.

"Surface dressing is an excellent preventative measure that allows us to extend the lifespan of roads catching them at a point before more costly methods of repair are needed. It offers good value for the taxpayer and one of the biggest advantages being it can be done quickly cutting down on road or lane closures that cause inconvenience to motorists."

A new online reporting facility is available at worcestershire.gov.uk/reportit for residents to report potholes, problems with street lighting, problems with traffic lights or other issues on the roads.