Council completes annual highway preparations for the winter

Work to keep the local highway network on the move this winter, with road salt stocked, grit bins filled and gritting lorries prepared, is being undertaken by B&NES Council.

Gritting lorries at the council’s Clutton depot | Photo © B&NES Council

Almost 2,000 tonnes of road salt are in dry storage in the local authority’s two salt barns and work to check and refill the 434 grit bins across Bath & North East Somerset is underway.

The spreading of road salt helps prevent ice forming on road surfaces and makes them safer for road users.

A dry gritting run took place making sure the council’s nine gritting lorries were ready and working after their summer services.

The council has split its gritting fleet this year for the first time and will operate three gritting lorries from the Keynsham Recycling Hub, providing quicker access to gritting routes nearby and increasing the council’s efficiency and operational resilience.

On average the council carries out 57 gritting runs each year, using around 2,500 tonnes of road salt as it maintains 1,102km of highway.

Each gritting run sees gritting vehicles deployed to prioritised highways like A roads, B roads, bus routes and roads which provide access to schools and hospitals.

Councillor Manda Rigby, cabinet member for highways, said: “Preparations for the colder days and nights are already in hand, as ever our Highways team will provide a 24/7 service keeping our road network safe and running.”

The council has said it will use the colder months to focus on maintaining the highway and undertaking reactive works like pothole repairs, gully cleansing and gritting.

Highway patching and resurfacing works pause until the warmer, drier and more suitable weather of spring.

As temperatures drop, the council’s highways team will monitor specialist forecasts and data from its own weather stations to identify when low temperatures and weather conditions pose a threat to road users.

Gritting runs are needed whenever road temperatures near freezing. There are 18 specially trained drivers on stand-by to respond when required.