Essex Highways’ gritters called into action

During the recent snowfall earlier this month, Essex Highways’ gritters spread nearly 2,000 tonnes of salt on roads across Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock, over a 48-hour period.

Gritter crews treated 2,000 miles of main roads five times in a 24-hour period before and during the snowfall on 10 December.

Salt is at its most effective when it is spread before ice forms or snow lays, so Essex Highways’ crews were out ahead of time – only for rain in some areas to wash the salt away, meaning drivers were out again within hours.

Essex Highways’ salting routes are:

• ’A’ roads that Essex Highways are responsible for. This excludes the A12, the A120 and the A130 which are administered by other organisations
• ‘B’ roads
• The access route to the main settlement of a parish of 50 or more households not already on the precautionary salting route
• Roads served by at least four public bus services per day for five days per week or more
• Roads that link sites of national importance (e.g. airports, ports, fuel refineries) to the main salting network
• Roads which allow ambulance and fire stations access to the main salting network

To help residents understand what gritting can and can’t do, Essex Highways has published a ‘mythbuster’ based on issues raised in recent days.

The Essex Highways website also explains how to get hold of salt to pre-treat icy pavements, and a video to help residents apply it.

18 December 2017