Winter gritting leaflet launched

The recent chilly conditions and snow experienced in Herefordshire is proof that winter is upon us. A guide detailing the roads in Herefordshire to receive winter gritting for 2007-2008 has been launched.

Copies of the free leaflet containing maps of gritting routes as well as winter driving tips are being distributed to council Info Centres and libraries as well as a number of filling stations and garages throughout the county. The leaflet can also be downloaded from the Snow Clearance page of the website.

Around 930km (580 miles) of roads in the county (about 30 per cent of the road network) are given a precautionary salting whenever there is a risk of ice or snow causing dangerous driving conditions.

In cold weather other roads may be icy and, in prolonged freezing weather or snow, the council also carries out salting on important minor routes such as links to rural communities, regular public transport routes with daily frequencies and routes to within 500m of county schools.

Road conditions are monitored on a daily basis, using information from six automated roadside stations and the Met Office.

Herefordshire Council spends around £650,000 per year on precautionary salting.
Fifteen gritter lorries are used with the aim of having all the routes complete in two and a half hours.

Councillor Brian Wilcox, Herefordshire Council's cabinet member for highways and transportation, said: "Now the weather has turned colder, I want to reassure residents we try and preempt a cold snap by salting the roads to prevent the formation of potentially dangerous ice.

"The leaflet also contains tips on driving in winter such as allowing extra time for journeys and I would urge all drivers to follow these and make sure they are safe, whatever the weather," he added.

Gritting on trunks roads - the M50, A40, A49 and A465 from Belmont roundabout in Hereford towards Abergavenny - is carried out by the Highways Agency through their agents AmeyMouchel and InterRoute.