Cambridgeshire County Council will host a drop‑in event at the Oliver Cromwell Hotel, High Street, March (PE15 9LH) on Monday (August 3), from 3pm to 7.30pm.
The session will give people the chance to meet the project team, learn more about the trial on Upwell Road (B1099), ask questions and find out how the research could improve the durability of local roads built on peat.
Peat soils are soft, water‑rich and prone to significant movement, expanding and contracting with changing weather conditions over time.
That shifting ground means roads built over peat need more frequent repairs and generally have a shorter lifespan than routes constructed on firmer soils.
The trial on Upwell Road aims to test different construction techniques to see which performs best in these challenging conditions, with the findings expected to inform future road improvements in Cambridgeshire and beyond.
Work will begin on Monday, August 10, and the road will be closed to vehicles for nine weeks, until October 30. Diversions will be in place while the closure is in place.
The Upwell Road scheme follows work by the county’s Highways and Transport Committee, which discussed proposals for managing soil‑affected roads back in January 2024.
Since then, £1.5m of external funding has been secured from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, alongside an additional £5m of county capital funding earmarked for repairing and reconstructing soil‑affected roads before the end of the next financial year.
Councillors have previously been told that the trial options could include using lightweight recycled materials, “ultra‑low” carbon products, or on‑site treatment techniques designed to strengthen existing materials and improve their durability.
Upwell Road was chosen for the pilot because it is built over peat, carries both heavy and agricultural traffic, is typical of the rural network, and is already due for renewal.
Cllr Alex Beckett, chair of the highways and transport committee, has previously said climate change and extreme weather are having a “significant impact” on soil‑affected roads and that long‑term solutions will require national support as well as local maintenance.
The council says Monday’s meeting is an opportunity for March and Fenland residents to help shape that work and understand how the Upwell Road project could influence future investment on other peat‑based routes.