Autumn and winter are the costliest times of year for road repairs for local authorities
As winter draws in, learn how local authorities can implement overbanding solutions to keep costs down and ensure safe roads this season
Local authorities will know that autumn and winter are the costliest times of year for road repairs. With increased rainfall and poor drainage comes an increased risk of freeze-thaw, where water seeps into cracks in roads, expanding them when it freezes. These cracks can often lead to weaknesses that eventually collapse, forming dangerous potholes.
And potholes are becoming an increasingly prominent issue for Britain’s motorists and cyclists. Between spring 2024 and summer 2025, the RAC responded to 24,763 pothole-related breakdowns; a 9% increase compared to the previous year. Potholes also cause around 15% of all cycling accidents on our roads.
With local budgets tightening, ongoing road works each winter aren’t a feasible option for many councils. So, how can local authorities help to keep roads safe over the winter months whilst keeping costs down?
Overbanding surfacing solutions
Overbanding is the process of sealing road cracks to waterproof them, prevent further damage, maintain road quality and prolong the need for road surface works.
Our Flexi®Range services are a market-leading solution, providing crack, joint and pothole treatments tailored to each surface and location. The Flexi®Band system is our overbanding surfacing solution and prolongs the life of heavy-traffic roads by repairing them with minimal disruption before potholes form.
Overbanding seals road cracks to waterproof them, preventing further damage, maintaining road quality and prolonging the need for road surface work
Benefits of Flexi®Band
Combining a uniform distribution of chopped fibres and aggregates, the system provides a stable treatment to cracking.
Application is easy and quick, causing minimal disruption to roads and traffic.
Less water gets into cracks, reducing the risk of freeze-thaw and the need for repeat repairs.
Once sealed, Flexi®Band prevents degradation of the road above and below the surface interlayers, preventing further degradation of the road.
Larger road repairs are prolonged, reducing the environmental and economic impact of using heavy machinery, materials and manpower.
Quick application ensures minimal disruption to local traffic and public transport services.
Flexi®Band application saves Councils money on costly surface repairs.
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HMS Decorative Surfacing is a trusted surfacing contractor with over 30 years of experience, and uses the best quality materials, including naturally-sourced and UK-processed decorative aggregates
Why choose HMS?
We organise our own traffic management when making repairs. This ensures quicker installation and is cheaper to execute.
The HMS team works at night to ensure minimal disruption to road users and reduce the need for costly road closures.
We are a trusted surfacing contractor with over 30 years of experience. Don’t take our word for it, read our case study for Leicester City Council to find out about our long-standing local authority relationship.
We use the very best quality materials, including naturally-sourced and UK-processed decorative aggregates.
Our customer service goes above and beyond to support any local authority throughout the works, from start to finish.
