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A guide detailing the roads in Herefordshire to receive winter gritting is launched this week.
Copies of the free leaflet containing maps of gritting routes as well as winter driving tips are being distributed to council Information Points and selected petrol stations around the county for motorists to pick-up.
Around 925km (578miles) of roads in the County (about 30% of the road network) are given a precautionary salting whenever there is a risk of ice or snow causing dangerous driving conditions.
During the winter maintenance season (mid October to mid April) road conditions are monitored on a daily basis using information from six automated roadside stations and the Met office.
Herefordshire Council spends £500,000 each year carrying out salting operations and uses an average of 6,500 tonnes of rock salt from mines in Cheshire. Sixteen gritter lorries are operated out of four depots by the Council’s contracting partners, Herefordshire Jarvis Services.
Stephen Oates, Head of Engineering and Transportation, said: “Whenever possible we try and pre-empt a cold snap by salting the roads to prevent the formation of potentially dangerous ice.
“However, we are very dependent on weather forecasts for planning our operations and as we all know the weatherman doesn’t always get it right!
“Our own staff also monitor the situation through the night, checking key routes if necessary.
“It is likely motorists will encounter snow and ice on our roads from time to time so we ask that they follow the common sense safety tips listed in the guide which include keeping speeds down when weather conditions are bad.”
Gritting on trunk roads (the M50, A40, A49 and A465 from Hereford to the Welsh border) is carried out by contractors working for the Highways Agency.
The information will also be available on the Council’s web site www.herefordshire.gov.uk.
Winter gritting leaflet launched
A guide detailing the roads in Herefordshire to receive winter gritting is launched this week.
Copies of the free leaflet containing maps of gritting routes as well as winter driving tips are being distributed to council Information Points and selected petrol stations around the county for motorists to pick-up.
Around 925km (578miles) of roads in the County (about 30% of the road network) are given a precautionary salting whenever there is a risk of ice or snow causing dangerous driving conditions.
During the winter maintenance season (mid October to mid April) road conditions are monitored on a daily basis using information from six automated roadside stations and the Met office.
Herefordshire Council spends £500,000 each year carrying out salting operations and uses an average of 6,500 tonnes of rock salt from mines in Cheshire. Sixteen gritter lorries are operated out of four depots by the Council’s contracting partners, Herefordshire Jarvis Services.
Stephen Oates, Head of Engineering and Transportation, said: “Whenever possible we try and pre-empt a cold snap by salting the roads to prevent the formation of potentially dangerous ice.
“However, we are very dependent on weather forecasts for planning our operations and as we all know the weatherman doesn’t always get it right!
“Our own staff also monitor the situation through the night, checking key routes if necessary.
“It is likely motorists will encounter snow and ice on our roads from time to time so we ask that they follow the common sense safety tips listed in the guide which include keeping speeds down when weather conditions are bad.”
Gritting on trunk roads (the M50, A40, A49 and A465 from Hereford to the Welsh border) is carried out by contractors working for the Highways Agency.
The information will also be available on the Council’s web site www.herefordshire.gov.uk.