MORE than 30 stretches of road across the Forest will be improved this year as part of a county-wide programme.

The 33 projects will see either the road surface completely replaced or “dressed” to prevent further wear.

Gloucestershire County Council is aiming to improve more than 100 miles of highways with its resurfacing and surface dressing programme in the financial year which started this month.

The council has also announced that it is bringing a £500,000 “pot-hole busting” machine into service.

During the spring and summer the resurfacing programme will focus on larger roads using hot rolled asphalt which is the most durable main road material but needs to laid in good weather.

Among the Forest projects planned for between now and the end of June are stretches of the A4136 Monmouth to Gloucester road at Edge End, Brierley, Longhope and Little London, the A48 Chepstow to Gloucester road on the Lydney by-pass at Purlieu and Sandford Hill in Aylburton, the B4432 at Main Road and North Road, Broadwell and Parkend Walk at Sling.

Less busy roads, where other materials can be used will be done later in the year.

The county council was expecting to take delivery of a 13-tonne JCB Pothole Pro machine that can quickly cut away damaged sections of the road surface and will operate in all six districts of the county.

A spray injection patcher, which doubles the speed of pothole repairs, will also work its way across the county.

A spokesperson for the council said: “The UK’s wettest winter for 130 years has put our roads under pressure, but we are trialling new materials and techniques to make better longer-lasting repairs to Gloucestershire roads.”

“We are continuing to try new methods to boost efficiency and ensure we have the right tool for the right job.

“Our Find and Fix teams continue to proactively fix clusters of smaller potholes before they get worse – Eight teams will work across the county in addition to 30 regular repair teams.

“And when possible, our teams repair smaller potholes which are adjacent to any safety critical ones that they are repairing.