Thursday 19 July 2018

Working on it | TfB’s Long Term Improvements for 2018-19


Despite the very hot weather disrupting some road resurfacing schedules, Transport for Buckinghamshire’s 2018-19 programme of road improvements has been well under way since April, with 10-15 road sites being treated every week.  The total budget for long term improvements across the whole Buckinghamshire network is almost £30 million for this financial year – this budget is to primarily cover road and footway resurfacing, but also covers investment in bridges, streetlights, drainage, safety schemes, parking, safety barriers and traffic signals.  

Road resurfacing in action during the 2017-18 programme. Photo: Jerry Lake 

TfB is responsible for over 3200km of roads across the county, as well as the bridges, footways, streetlights, traffic signals, bollards and gullies that keep the highway functional and safe.  Maintaining this valuable and vast asset requires long term, strategic planning that balances day-to-day maintenance with longer term improvements.  

Deputy Leader and Transport Cabinet Member Mark Shaw commented on the challenges TfB face in maintaining the county’s most valuable asset:

“Buckinghamshire is in a uniquely challenging position; we’re a rural county yet close to London, with the smallest county road network – in kilometres – of the whole country, yet with one of the highest volumes of traffic nationally. That high volume of traffic, more and more of which is larger goods vehicles, puts a massive strain on road surfaces. The Council is committed to maintaining the roads to a safe and serviceable level, which is why we’ve put more money into road maintenance this year, and I’m proud of how hard the whole TfB team is working to make real long term improvements.”

Road and footway resurfacing 2018-19

The most high profile element of our work is road and footway resurfacing, which is also the biggest part of our capital spend, with over £20 million budgeted for it across the county this year. Over 100 road resurfacing and 18 footway resurfacing schemes are planned for 2018-19, as part of a works programme designed by TfB in collaboration with local County Councillors. When roads have been chosen for resurfacing they are prioritised and the appropriate treatment is chosen – there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to road surfacing, with several options available to extend the life of a road. Every Friday we release a programme of works around the county for the upcoming week, which can be found here on the County Council website, as can the details about the different types of road surfacing we use.  Since April eight major surfacing schemes have already been completed in Buckinghamshire, equating to an area of over 16,000m².

Road surfacing in action by TfB teams, photo: Jerry Lake 

A further £2.78M has been invested in a ‘plane and patch’ programme, where smaller areas of damaged road surface are cut out and resurfaced. We are using this technique to deal with the significant deterioration of Buckinghamshire’s roads that occurred last winter. Some highly visible and longstanding areas of concern have been addressed quickly and effectively through this approach, and by the end of June, approx. 62,000 m²of plane and patch has been carried out across the county.

Structures, 2018-19

This year in excess of £1 million will be invested on improvements to various structures across the county, including bridges, subways, parapets, and monuments. Structures work is undertaken by a combination of in-house structures operatives and skilled contractors, particularly for the works requiring specialist knowledge such as for listed historic structures, such as Marlow Obelisk, which will undergo renovation works later in the summer.  Other structures projects for the coming year include a footbridge in Buckingham and a monument in Thornborough.

Structures work in action
Buckingham's London Road footbridge, which is undergoing refurbishment by TfB during 2018-19. Photo: Beth Mills

Drainage, 2018-19

The countywide drainage improvement programme creates sustainable, long term solutions to some of the more significant drainage issues across the county. Where road surface water and ineffective drainage are an issue a solution is designed and built by a team of drainage specialists – in general the work will involve installing new pipework and soakaways, improving ditch capacity, and refurbishing existing drainage systems to increase capacity. £1 million has been allocated for the 2018-19 drainage programme, and will include over 30 sites, eleven of which have already been completed.  You can read about how drainage improvements were made in Buckinghamshire last year here, and see the full list of planned works for 2018-19 on the County Council website. 

Streetlighting, 2018-19

‘Street lighting’ actually refers not just to conventional streetlights but to all road side illuminated signs and bollards, as well as lighting in subways, and all the associated cabling. This year over £2.5 million will be spent on major street lighting works, which includes replacing over 500 streetlight columns, and continuing the countywide programme to replace all old style sodium lamps with more modern and efficient LED units. Over the last six years almost 15,000 LED conversions have been completed in Buckinghamshire, with over 3,200 old style lanterns expected to be replaced this coming year.

Streetlighting works, photo: Matt Fowler


Other schemes


  • TfB also carries out local, smaller schemes on our roads and streets. These are developed with, and often funded by, third parties such as parishes and Local Area Forums (LAFs). Over 200 of these schemes are planned for 2018-19, including pedestrian crossings and cycle ways.
  • Over £300,000 will be invested in countywide network safety schemes whilst a further £879,000 from the DfT Safer Roads allocation, will enable a number of safety schemes to be carried out along the A40 between West Wycombe and Stokenchurch
  • In excess of £400,000 has been allocated for the upgrade of traffic signal infrastructure across the county
  • £250,000 is to be invested on safety fencing improvements across the county
  • A further £500,000+ has also been budgeted this year for locally organised projects such as traffic calming and other highway safety improvements.


More information about what TfB does can be found on the county council website, and by following TfB on Twitter and Facebook.



Transport for Buckinghamshire thanks George Green resident Jerry Lake, for his wonderful resurfacing photographs. 


Monday 9 July 2018

Gritters are out in Buckinghamshire as hot weather affects some roads


Transport for Buckinghamshire are getting the gritters out of summer retirement to tackle the effect of the prolonged hot temperatures on the roads. 



Road surface temperatures are much hotter than the ambient air temperature, and are now regularly exceeding 50oc by mid-afternoon in places, causing some road surfaces to soften. As bitumen bleeds through to the road surface it can look very black and slick, particularly on roads that are subject to a high level of turning and braking movements from traffic, or that do not get any shade.

County Councillor Mark Shaw, Cabinet Member for Transportation, commented: 
“This is not a problem unique to Buckinghamshire, roads are suffering all over the country at the moment as this unbelievable weather persists! Look out for our gritters spreading sand and dust over the roads in Bucks over the coming days and weeks, to absorb the bitumen and help prevent deterioration of the road surface. My huge thanks go to TfB teams working in sweltering temperatures to keep the roads safe. The gritters will continue operating until the extreme hot weather conditions subside, and road surfaces return to a more normal temperature.

Heat stops play...


The country is currently experiencing the longest period of consistent hot weather since 1976, with temperatures frequently reaching 29oc and above, with no sign of things cooling down soon. This hot weather is also impacting on the progress of the summer road resurfacing programme, because temperatures are too high to lay down certain types of surface treatments.

Whilst there are not currently expected to be any long term effects to the condition of the highway network, road users are asked – as usual – to exercise care while travelling, including taking care of their vehicles and themselves. While vehicle breakdowns are no more likely in hot weather than any other time, the conditions would be very hot and uncomfortable. Cars should be checked before longer journeys and motorists should carry plenty of water to keep hydrated.

The County Council has issued advice to residents to combat health risks from hot weather: wearing UV sunglasses, drinking plenty of cool drinks, looking out for those with serious illnesses and never leaving anyone in a closed, parked vehicle.