A high-performance and potentially longer-lasting road surfacing material is being trialled in an Oxfordshire village.
The test in Middle Barton will use an enhanced type of asphalt called Gipave.
A 725-metre stretch (793 yards) of North Street will be laid with the material, alongside a section which will be laid with conventional asphalt.
The first use of the product in the UK was for a pilot scheme in Curbridge in Hampshire in 2019.
The material was also tested in Oxford’s Marsh Lane in March 2022.
The trials are being carried out by Oxfordshire County Council’s contractor Milestone Infrastructure and their partner Aggregate Industries.
Oxfordshire’s highways councillor Andrew Gant said: “Innovation is at the heart of what our highway teams do, as we have shown with previous Gipave trials and our recent event in Steventon where Milestone tested seven different pothole repair methods on the same road.
“Increasing the lifespan of road surfaces will reduce the need for resurfacing work, ease the burden on highways budgets, and cut carbon emissions for the life cycle of a stretch of road.”
In June different methods of repairing potholes were compared during a trial on a 1km (0.6 miles) stretch of Hanney Road in Steventon.
Methods included using a machine called a Dragon Patcher and applying mastic asphalt. The results will be monitored over the coming years.
Rich Lovewell, from contractor Milestone Infrastructure, said the past winter was “the worst season I can remember” for potholes on the county’s roads.