Swindon residents on melting road say they are 'living in fear'

Dexter Close was one of the many roads in Swindon to have been resurfaced with a micro asphalt material mix that has been causing problems in the town.

After receiving complaints a few weeks ago Swindon Borough Council inspected the road and agreed it was faulty - telling those who live there it would be fixed in September. 

The melting road surface on Dexter Close

But as the heatwave continues conditions on the road have worsened. 

"I got stuck in the road yesterday and today, cars that drive in and out are pulling up clumps of asphalt" one local explained. 

"They now cannot get material off of their car wheels," they added. "Who would be responsible for a new tyre if this tarmac damages it?"

"Residents are living in fear of driving their cars over it and people are at risk of damaging their trainers/footwear/bikes because it is literally melting!

"This cannot wait until September. It needs to be taken up ASAP."

Sticky asphalt on a tyre that came off the road surface

Councillor Sean Wilson discovered similar issues in many of West Swindon's roads that have been resurfaced with the same material.

Neighbouring South Gloucestershire Council reported that it had faced issues in 21 places, while similar issues have been discovered in Newbury and Hungerford. 

Fellow councillor Suresh Gattapur has called for answers. 

Road surface sticking to trainers

"Micro asphalting must get done during cold weather and it requires about a couple of weeks to settle down. I have found the new technology is used in Bristol, South Gloucestershire, East Midlands, Kent and other councils in UK.

"But I'm not sure what has happened on these roads. The result is appalling. I will be asking cabinet members and officers to find out the root cause. It is not acceptable to have this technology unless it is proved."

South Swindon MP Robert Buckland, who was approached by locals to help get something done, added: “Along with Mr Gattapur, I have raised this issue with council leader David Renard today and asked for urgent action to be taken on behalf of local residents.”

A Swindon Borough Council spokesperson said: “We appreciate this is extremely worrying for local residents and while it is not a permanent solution, we’ve arranged to lay some grit sand at Dexter Close in an effort to prevent tyres sticking to the bitumen. We are urgently working with our contractor to see if there is any extra remedial action we can take.

Several areas of the Dexter Close road are coming away

“It is not uncommon during extremely hot temperatures for newly-laid areas to fail due to the softening of the bitumen binder, but this will not affect the condition of the main road sub-base. The difficulty we face is that we cannot carry out an immediate repair of the road surface in the current heat as the same problem is likely to occur again. The material has to be applied within an ideal temperature range and allowed to set for between four and six weeks.

“The defective road surface will be repaired at our contractor’s expense, but we would advise residents living in Dexter Close to drive slowly and ensure that they turn carefully during this current period of extreme heat.

“If any resident spots a road defect then we urge them to report it on our website: https://bit.ly/3vYK7Qh”