Drive with care as 2025 road works season ramps up

Drivers are being urged to allow extra time for journeys and drive with care as Orkney Islands Council’s Roads team gears up for the summer road works season – including the annual surface dressing programme.

The Roads team is already out and about doing preparatory work in several areas of the county ahead of surface dressing starting next week - including road sweeping, surveys, patching and setting up signage and traffic management.

The warmer summer months typically sees an extensive surface dressing programme take place around the county, where selected roads are ‘dressed’ with a protective layer of polymer binder and chips to help prolong the life of carriageways.

The 2025 programme will start around 14 May at Russland Road in Harray, and finish  around the end of June, and will see 17 stretches of road totalling around 21km being surface dressed, across ten different areas - Birsay, Sandwick, Harray, Orphir, Kirkwall, St Ola, South Ronaldsay, Holm, Deerness and Stromness.

Crews will be working around school transport, but sections will be closed to all other traffic (with the usual exception of emergency vehicles).

Roads included in this year’s programme are listed below and folk can take a closer look via the interactive map at www.orkney.gov.uk/roads

Surface dressing seals the road surface, preventing further deterioration and stopping water from penetrating the deeper road structure, which can then lead to potholes forming. At around £6 per square metre it is an effective and efficient way to reduce the need for more costly repairs such as resurfacing (where the road surface is planed out and replaced).

Lorna Richardson is Head of the Council’s Neighbourhood Services: “We surface dress in summer as the warmer temperatures help the materials cure quicker, meaning we can move through the work and reopen roads in optimum time for people.

“We’d ask drivers to be mindful our team are out and about more over coming weeks, and could well be on the roads in early mornings to set up and possibly sometimes later than 5pm - so please be prepared to encounter crews on the road right throughout the summer roadworks season.”

Once underway, folks can follow the Council’s social media for updates on surface dressing operations:

• Telegram: t.me/OIC_Roads
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/oicupdates 
• www.orkney.gov.uk

The 2025 surface dressing programme is detailed below in date order. Please note work is weather and temperature dependent and so all dates provided are indicative only and may change - please check back and keep an eye on our social media for updates.

Once works are completed, crews will still need to return in subsequent weeks to carry out sweeping and line marking - please heed any speed limits which are there to keep everyone safe and help the new chips bed in nicely. 

• Harray: Russland Road (from A986 to Lochview) – 14 May to 21 May - Completed 
• Birsay: B9056 (from Marwick Road junction up to Skidge Road) – 19 May to 25 May. Completed.
• Sandwick: Bristol Road (from B9056 to Quoyloo Road) – 19 May to 22 May. Completed
• Stromnes: Outertown Road (from Warbeth Road junction to just after Burn of Streather) – 23 May to 30 May. Completed. 
• Stromness: Springfield Crescent (full extent) – 22 May to 26 May. Completed.
• Stromness: Nethertown Road (from Back Road to just beyond 30mph signs) – Completed.
• Orphir: Gyre Road (from west side of A964 junction to 30mph signs) – 28 May to 30 May. Completed.
• St.Ola: Orquil Road (from A964 to the cemetery) – 28 May. Completed.
• Kirkwall: Old Scapa Road / High Street (from Foreland Road to New Scapa Road) – 3 June to 4 June. Completed. Affects No. 9 Kirkwall Town Service bus - the bus will follow its usual route but may be subject to minor delays. All other traffic will be diverted around the works.
• Kirkwall: Papdale Road / Drive / Crescent / Place (full extent) – 4 June to 9 June. Completed
• Deerness: Denwick Road (from B9050 to Seater / top of Manse Road) – 9 June to 13 June. Completed. 
• Deerness: Halley Road (from B9050 to Braebuster) – 9 June to 13 June  - Completed.
• St Mary's: A961(through the village between 30mph signs). Completed. Minor delays for school transport and for X1 Stagecoach bus service. All other traffic will be diverted via B9052 (past Graemeshall), Holm war memorial, Moss Road rejoining A961 at Wilderness junction. Bin collections will continue as normal. Please remove any parked cars from the A961. Access will be maintained for residents under guidance of site staff, with delays at times.
• St Mary's: Graemeshall Road (from B9052 to junction with Biggings) – Monday 16 June. Completed.
• South Ronaldsay: Haybrake Road (from A961 to Aikers Road) – 17June to 20 June. Completed.
• South Ronaldsay: St Margarets Road (from top of village to Cromarty Square) – 17 and 18 June. Completed. X1 bus will follow normal route. All other traffic will be diverted via Church Road. Access will be maintained for residents, doctors surgery and Braeburn under guidance from site staff, with delays at times. 
• South Ronaldsay: B9044 Grimness Road (from A961 to the second passing place on Aikers Road) 18 June to 23 June. Completed.