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Jun 01, 2023

Swindon road's melting surface ruins car tyres and shoes

RESIDENTS that have been dealing with a 'melting' road surface since their

RESIDENTS that have been dealing with a 'melting' road surface since their street was resurfaced are still having issues with it a year afterwards.

Dexter Close was resurfaced with a micro asphalt material mix last year, but since then people living there have found that sticky lumps of the surface have been coming off on shoes and tyres.

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

After laying grit sand on the road to try and protect tyres with an immediate temporary fix, the road was eventually taken up and relaid in April this year.

However, a street party during the recent Coronation of King Charles in May confirmed that the road surface was still defective, with chairs and people sinking into it.

One resident, who wished to remain anonymous visited his parent's house in Dexter Close during the Coronation party and talked about the issue in a post on social media afterwards.

"Yesterday was the first day of a slightly warm, sunny day and unsurprisingly, the tarmac has started to melt again," he said.

"There were several chairs pulled out from the Coronation celebrations they had in the road.

"And my youngest nephew's trainers are completely stained from the tarmac coming up and sticking to them.

"With the summer months coming now, I don't hold much hope for this road lasting.

"This is literally a constant nightmare. I’ve never known a road you sink into."

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

Prior to this latest development councillor Sean Wilson had been collating evidence of these defects revealing that a number of other roads have been affected, such as Crawford Close, Godolphin Close/Uxbridge Road, and Hampton Drive.

Surresh Gattapur had also campaigned for the council to do something about Dexter Close and had called for the council to look at the cause of the problems.

In response to the new post on the matter, new Swindon Borough Council leader Jim Robbins said: "Happy to take this up for you in my new role. Will be doing a lot of work with the highways team over the next few months trying to sort them out!"

If any resident spots a road defect they are urged to report it to Swindon Borough Council on its website: https://bit.ly/3vYK7Qh