Works will begin in Peterhead along with other villages in Buchan, before moving onto to complete works in Ellon and rural roads of Formartine and thereafter works in Fraserburgh and rural roads in Banff and Buchan.

The contract is one of several road surfacing contracts to be issued in the coming months by the council as part of its annual roads maintenance programme.

The surface dressing programme is nearing completion with nearly 70 miles treated within the three areas. With the additional contractor resources now in place, the council hopes to complete the backlog of maintenance and repairs within the next four months.

The council said: “The wintry weather this year has brought a range of challenges across Aberdeenshire. Our Roads Team is aware of a lot of current and emerging issues with the road network condition and will be working through these over the coming weeks.

“Specifically, the work planned is to address the most safety-critical road surface defects across our 3,500 miles of road. Defects are categorised depending on the severity of the defect. Those posing an immediate danger to the public are inspected and actioned within 24 hours.

“All other defects are inspected and repaired under a risk-based approach as per the Well Managed Highways Code of Practice. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, response times will be slightly longer than normal, however, we are pursuing external work contracts to assist with the repair of defects that have arisen due to the severe winter spell in February.

“These works will continue throughout the summer months and address the areas that are currently identified as programmed works.”