Was it a colder or milder than average winter in Oxfordshire?
Oxfordshire County Council’s gritters covered nearly 50,000 miles over the space of five months this winter and travelled a distance the equivalent of Oxford to Iceland on every day that they hit the county’s roads “The gritters are always a good indication of what kind of winter we’ve had and the statistics for the 2022/3 […]
A successful, busy winter season comes to an end in Worcestershire
More than 5,000 tonnes of salt has been spread this winter covering almost 70,000 miles of roads in total across Worcestershire. The gritting season has now come to end after starting, as it does each year, in October and with the risk of sub-zero temperatures being unlikely. Worcestershire County Council has carried out 54 gritting […]
Powys roads winter service review agreed by cabinet
Proposals to review the way Powys roads are serviced during the winter months were considered and agreed by Powys County Council’s Cabinet this week. The road network within Powys stretches more than 5,500 km and is made up of county roads (maintained and managed by Powys County council) and trunk roads (maintained and managed by […]
More than 50 schools in Shropshire receive free salt spreader for treating icy pavements
More than 50 Shropshire schools have taken up Shropshire Council’s offer of a free pedestrian salt spreader and salt, to treat icy pavements near their school during spells of wintry weather. The first to take up the offer was Castlefields Primary in Bridgnorth, who have been using their spreader (named Spready Mercury) since last year. […]
Gritting routes are ‘sexist’ says Cambridgeshire councillor
Winter gritting routes need to change to not just favour ‘getting men to work in cars,’ according to a Cambridgeshire County Councillor. Cllr Alex Beckett said the network is “primarily focused on getting men to work in cars” and that can “leave active travel users counting the costs with broken limbs”. The comments, from the […]
Pupils learn about road safety and name West Northants gritters
Youngsters at St Luke’s Primary School in Northampton received a special assembly on Friday, 27 January to learn all about road safety and how Kier Highways and West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) maintain roads across the area. As part of the Highways contract, WNC and Kier Highways have a fleet of gritters which require names. Following […]
Councils prepare for deep freeze with 1.4 million tonnes of salt at the ready
Councils are preparing for a period of plummeting temperatures, with 1.4 million tonnes of salt stockpiled across the country ready to treat icy roads and pavements. The Local Government Association’s (LGA) annual weather resilience survey found that on average local areas had eight gritting lorries as well as quad bikes, tractors and snow blowers on […]
Devon’s highways teams prepared for winter
With temperatures forecast to drop this week Devon’s highways teams say they’re prepared to face whatever the elements throw at the county’s roads over the next few months. Gritting depots across the county are fully stocked with around 24,000 tonnes of salt and Devon County Council’s upgrade of its winter fleet has continued, with eight […]
Bolton Council protects gritting services on its roads
Bolton Council has moved to protect gritting services on roads across the borough for next winter and beyond. Faced with a savings target of £37.2m, the council had proposed changes to gritting routes from the winter of 2023/24. These proposed changes would have introduced a risk-based approach to gritting, which was developed and agreed during […]
Shropshire’s gritting teams all set for winter
Shropshire’s highways teams have been busy preparing for the onset of winter and are ready to treat the county’s roads when the ice and snow arrive. Shropshire Council and its highways contractor Kier, has 25 gritters plus five reserve vehicles – along with nine footway ploughs, and nine snow blowers – ready to treat 25 […]
