In addition to the effects of heavy traffic and environment, another major factor which can cause serious damage to urban road pavements is the excavation carried out by public utilities. Such damage is largely due to the inevitable settlement of traditional granular backfill as a result of inadequete compaction of irregular and pocketed trench sides. This paper presents the state of the art in this field and examines the possibility of using cement bound materials to improve the backfilling and reinstatementof such exavations.