Part of Hampshire County Council's multi-million pound bid to fix roads damaged by last winters big freeze has drawn to a close.
Operation Restore was set up as the first part of a seven year strategy to resurface and repair roads and ‘future proof' the county’s highways.
The county council announced this month that Restore, which launched in June, had been completed ahead of schedule.
At the start of 2010, freezing conditions left Basingstoke roads littered with potholes.
Following widespread criticism from district and borough councils across Hampshire, the county council launched Restore along with Operation Resilience.
Under Operation Restore, the county council spent up to £12.5m throughout the year to bring roads back up to scratch.
By the end of November 2010, 53,000 tonnes of tarmac had been used in over 200 locations across the county.
The second stage - Operation Resilience - will launch next year to further build on the work done throughout 2010.
It will include a county-wide scheme of structural repairs, resurfacing and drainage works on roads and pavements that will take around seven years.
All together, more than £100m was set aside for the projects.
Councillor Mel Kendal, Executive Member for Environment, said: “Operation Restore has now completed what we set out to do, which is to bring Hampshire’s roads back to the condition they were in before being badly affected by last winter’s severe weather.
“The programme has included resurfacing or repairing roads across Hampshire, covering a total of around 340 square miles. At the busiest times we had six gangs working around the clock - three during the day and three at night.
“Residents have told us how much they appreciate this work, which is laying the foundations for Operation Resilience, the next stage in ensuring that Hampshire’s roads are fit for the future.”
