Warwickshire County Council is reassuring residents that highways across the county will continue to be gritted this winter.
With the winter gritting period poised to begin over the coming weeks, Warwickshire County Council is reassuring residents that, despite media claims to the contrary, its gritting fleet is unaffected by the ongoing shortage of Heavy Goods Vehicles Drivers and will operate as normal over the winter months.
Last winter season, Warwickshire’s gritting service carried out 78 gritting runs, covered 85800 miles in total, which is the equivalent of approximately 3.4 times around the circumference of the planet; used approximately 16,600 tonnes of salt which is equivalent to 592 lorry loads and above the seasonal average of 12, 000 tons which are reflective of a colder than average season. This involved 95 members of staff, including drivers, depot supervisors, duty managers, which was supported by County’s Fleet Maintenance Service who keep the 38 gritting vehicles on the road (29 front line vehicles and 9 reserves)
Warwickshire County Council has five dedicated depots for the gritting fleet, one on each geographical area of the county and have six weather stations and even employs a dedicated winter roads weather forecaster to help decide when there will be a need to grit.
Cllr Wallace Redford, Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder for Transport and Highways said: “Our gritting fleet in Warwickshire always does a fantastic job keeping the network running smoothly across the winter months and this season will be no exception. Due to fantastic resilience planning within the service, its core business of clearing the county’s roads will be affected by the nationwide shortage of HGV drivers.
“The work of the Service this season will be of continued importance keeping the roads clear of snow and ice for motorists and particularly Warwickshire’s key and essential workers.
“Last winter season saw the Service welcoming five replacement gritters to the fleet, which were selected based on their low emissions so that WCC can keep its commitment to doing all that it can to reduce its carbon footprint and minimise its impact on climate change. “
