A pothole-filled road likened to the surface of the Moon is getting repaired as part of a £16.5 million push to improve York’s roads.

Resurfacing works in Rufforth’s Middlewood Close planned as part of York Council’s yearly highway maintenance programme began on Wednesday (Nov 4) and are set to last three days.

Coun Kate Ravilious, the council’s Labour transport spokesperson, said works had not taken place on the residential road for a long time.

Council highways lead Steve Wragg said the road was one of several across York found to be in need of repairs.

Works on Middlewood Close, in Rufforth, York.

placeholder image — Works on Middlewood Close, in Rufforth, York.

The resurfacing comes ahead of the start of York’s Christmas Market on November 12.

Road works are set to be reduced to avoid disruption during a busy period for the city due to the event.

The council’s current highways maintenance programme, which began in March, has seen 68 projects completed so far.

It has seen improvements made to roads, pavements, walking and cycling routes, bridges, drains, the city’s walls and streetlights across York and its surrounding villages.

Council figures show £102 million would be required to bring all of York’s roads up to perfect condition.

The authority’s transport executive member Coun Ravilious said work in Middlewood Close was much-needed.

She said: “It’s a pothole-filled street that’s not been done in a long, long while.

“If you were driving down this road you’d be rattling around in your car, if you were cycling you’d be at risk of a clattering into a pothole, it’s a bit of a moonscape.

“Some roads like this are in such a state that the only answer is a full resurfacing.

“Every road ages differently, heavy vehicles exert more wear and tear and across the country we’re seeing a trend towards families having bigger cars like SUVs.

“At the beginning of the year the team put together a programme of works across the whole city based on condition of the roads and which were the worst.

“We really focus a lot on preventative treatments which can improve the condition of the whole road network.

“Preventative treatment like surface dressing lasts longer and slows down the emergence of potholes, reactive works to mend them don’t last long once water and ice gets in and pops the tarmac back out.

“We really appreciate it causes disruption when we do works on the roads, we do our best to limit the disruption.

“When we do works like putting in new speed bumps we also do road repairs so we don’t have to come back.

“It’s a challenging time for local government financially but we know how important this is to people and we’re doing our best to protect our roads which matter so much to the city and our data shows our roads are improving.”

Steve Wragg, the council’s highways lead, said the road was one identified by its inspectors as needing works this year.

The head of highway asset management said: “Around £12 million of the £16.5 million maintenance programme is for highways footpaths and roads.

“We utilise technology to help us identify the roads which need resurfacing.

“Our teams work to ensure we schedule works so they don’t make traffic issues worse for people and we do overnight closures where possible to keep the network moving while making things as safe as possible for contractors and communities.

“Highway maintenance is an essential part of the services the council delivers and we’re here 24/7, all-year-round to respond to emergencies like traffic accidents and spillages.”