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Winter road maintenance and gritting
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Winter weather travel
During heavy snow or adverse weather, you should only travel if it’s essential. It’s a good idea to check weather and traffic conditions before you travel during winter.
Winter maintenance refers to the process of gritting the roads to make them safe in case of bad weather.
Our winter maintenance period starts on 1 October and ends on 30 April each year. If the weather remains cold, winter maintenance can continue into May.
During this time our operatives and gritting vehicles are on standby 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
How does gritting work
The gritting process begins with spreading rock salt or grit onto the roads and pavements to de-ice them. The movement of the traffic then works the grit into the snow or ice and completes the process. When traffic is light, roads can remain icy for some time. That’s why roads can look as though they haven’t been gritted when they have.