Essex Highways is launching its winter service this week.

Crews have been familiarising themselves with gritting routes in preparation for the colder months. Routes prioritise main roads, access to emergency facilities and busy bus routes. They also prioritise areas where frost and ice have caused accidents.

Essex Highways’ 49 gritters, plus two mini gritters, cover approximately 2,000 miles of roads across Essex. This is about 40% of the network. Last winter, around 20,500 tonnes of salt were used on Essex’s roads, with the gritters out on the network approximately 70 times.

The drivers gritting the roads are the same as those carrying out road and pavement repairs across Essex. When the weather is particularly wintry, gritting the roads and making them safe for people to travel becomes the priority.