Bromley cold lay asphalt trial: workflow and durability notes for road engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Bromley Council is trialling Viafix cold lay asphalt for pothole patching as it more than doubles its road resurfacing budget to over £5m for its 547 miles of roads. The highly viscous mix is supplied in sacks, can be laid by a single operative in wet conditions and standing water, and follows a simple cut–clean–glue–pour–roll sequence, with each repair expected to take about 20 minutes and carrying a two‑year guarantee. Similar deployments by East Lothian, Cambridgeshire and Renfrewshire councils suggest wider potential for rapid, small‑crew maintenance workflows.
Technical Brief
- Viafix’s high viscosity allows placement directly into water-filled voids without pre-drying the pothole.
- Material is supplied in sealed sacks, enabling stockpiling on vehicles and depots without hot-plant logistics.
- One‑person gangs reduce traffic management footprint compared with typical two‑ or three‑person hot‑lay crews.
- Cold‑lay method avoids on‑site heating, eliminating burner emissions and associated plant maintenance.
- Councillor Bennett links recent “torrential rain” to accelerated pothole formation and worsening existing defects.
- Viatec cites operational use by East Lothian, Cambridgeshire and Renfrewshire, indicating cross‑climate performance.
- Wider adoption of bagged cold‑lay mixes could shift UK highway maintenance towards more reactive, point‑repair workflows.
Our Take
Within our 665 Infrastructure stories, very few UK local-authority pieces involve quantified performance guarantees like Bromley Council’s two‑year repair period, which signals growing confidence in cold lay asphalt products such as Viafix for front‑line maintenance rather than just temporary patching.
A £5m‑plus resurfacing and pothole budget spread over Bromley’s 547 miles suggests a strategy of targeted, rapid interventions; the 20‑minute average repair time is likely aimed at keeping traffic management costs down, which is often where traditional hot‑mix repairs become uneconomic for small defects.
The presence of other UK councils such as East Lothian, Cambridgeshire and Renfrewshire in the same product narrative indicates that cold lay asphalt is moving from trial status towards a multi‑authority toolkit, which can strengthen procurement leverage and standardisation of specifications across these regions.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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