Winter Salting Routes – 2009 - 2010
The seven months from October until the end of April are identified as the winter season
for MGWSP to monitor and salt the county’s roads as required. This is when all our crews
are on standby to deal with the winter weather.
We receive weather forecasts from the Metro group and use local knowledge of the network
to work out what the likelihood of frost or snow is. If necessary, we monitor the situation on
an hour-by-hour basis before making decisions to send our crews out to salt the roads.
We receive a morning summary text at 6am each day and then receive a 24 hour forecast at
about noon along with an evening update at 5.30pm. We don’t just rely on forecasts though;
we have five weather stations so that we can monitor the road conditions to make sure you
can travel in safety.
We salt the highway network to help the safe movement of all highway users: buses,
cyclists, motorists and pedestrians. Despite all of our efforts, winter conditions will still
make roads treacherous even if they have been treated. Make sure you are aware of the
conditions, reduce speeds and drive with caution. In severe weather, such as heavy snowfall,
roads can become hazardous, blocked and inaccessible. It is vital to clear roads and we do
this by fitting snow-ploughs to the fleet of vehicles.
Decisions on what action is to be taken are based on road temperatures rather than
air temperatures, and salting is likely whenever road temperatures are 1˚C or below.
Salting is normally carried out after the evening peak traffic period or before the
morning rush, because frost does not usually affect the road surface until late evening or early
morning. Some roads within the county are salted by other authorities, (see map overleaf), and
consequently the time of treatment may differ.
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