A SERIES of roadworks have taken place on a key stretch of highway.
St Helens Council confirmed that overnight works have been taking place on the Rainford Bypass, between Bushey Lane and Mossborough Road.
The work involved carriageway patching, the renewal of road markings and the installation of cat’s eyes.
The local authority has faced criticism over the state of the borough's roads, but officials have insisted it is committed to road safety and widespread highway maintenance measures.
Last month the council revealed how it is trialling low-carbon methods to repair potholes.
With the rise in reports of damaged roads, the council is taking a new approach using road repair materials made from recycled aggregates such as bitumen and polymers.
It says ‘Elastomac’ and ‘TexBand’ are both fast-setting, waterproof liquids that don’t require compacting – repairing potholes up to four times faster than it would take with asphalt, shutting out water to prevent ingress and helping extend the life of the road for years to come.
The new process - which consumes 80 percent less energy than traditional pothole repairs - has to date been used to carry out repairs around Chalon Way in St Helens town centre; Millfields, Eccleston; Islands Brow, Moss Bank and Victoria Road in Newton-le-Willows.
Work has also taken place on St Helens Linkway and Boardmans Lane, Blackbrook with more scheduled to take place in other locations across the borough over the coming weeks.
The Star and our readers have been highlighting the state of the borough's roads recently, with various locationsidentified as having numerous potholes.
The council said that last year it repaired more than the 1,611 potholes reported to it, but more 800 potholes have already been reported since December,
In a statement, the council said that last year it invested in a new multi-purpose Multihog vehicle to reduce the long-term costs of road repairs around the borough.
A 400mm wide road milling patch planer, powered by the Multihog operator from the cab, excavates defective road areas, allowing for a more permanent repair by removing the underlying imperfections.
Works are carried out in a fraction of the time they would normally take to do by hand – resulting in the highways team having the capacity to do more repairs on a daily basis, saving not only precious time but money, too.
To report potholes in St Helens, visit: sthelens.gov.uk/report-it
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