In recent months Argyll and Bute Council has engaged in general patching and potholing of the road network in Helensburgh and Lomond, as well as gulley cleaning and major work on the Helensburgh Cycle Way, which runs from Helensburgh to Cardross.

The council has also carried out significant work on the A817 Haul Road and the A814 Garelochhead bypass, planning out the old carriage, putting down a new surface and, this week, doing high friction surfacing work.

High friction surfacing is a treatment possessing high friction properties which impart a high level of skid resistance. It is a material consisting of high strength binder and calcined bauxite.

Going forward, the council has a budget in the £1m region for roads reconstruction projects in the Helensburgh and Lomond area for 2014/15, with a strong focus on regulation and overlaying of existing roads.

The projects which have been identified in the programme for maintenance work for the forthcoming financial year are as follows:

• B872 Garelochhead
• UC183 Laggary Park
• UC166 Kenilworth Avenue
• UC229 Old Luss Road
• UC268 South King Street
• UC148 Hepburn Road
• UC112 Fairway
• B833 Barremman
• A814 north of Portincaple
• B833 Cove
• A814 Glenmallan
• UC190 Linn Walk

These proposals were approved by the Helensburgh and Lomond Area Committee this week.

In February 2012, the council approved £21m of investment in roads reconstruction for 2012-15. This has been increased, bringing the total investment in roads infrastructure during the period 2012-15 to £22.5m. This is the third element of the three year network recovery plan, with estimated investment of approximately £7m being applied across the county on around 60 projects.

The overall focus of the roads reconstruction programme has been to recover the network through the delivery of a mix of carriageway resurfacing schemes, patching/surface dressing and in-situ road surface recycling.

The council’s in-house team will deliver carriageway resurfacing and patching works across the county, assisted on some island sites with its contractual partner Breedon, with surface dressing being delivered by Kiely Brothers, one of the UK’s leading specialists in carriageway and footway surface treatments.