Hertfordshire County Council to reduce gritting to preserve supplies (From Watford Observer)

Hertfordshire County Council to reduce gritting to preserve supplies

4:42pm Monday 8th February 2010

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Hertfordshire County Council has warned motorists that it will be gritting only essential routes as wintry weather and snow return.

Met Office forecasts predict heavy snowfall on Wednesday and freezing conditions throughout the weekend.

Executive member for highways Councillor Stuart Pile said: "Conditions on Hertfordshire's roads are likely to be difficult this week. We are continuing our salting runs but, in line with actions being taken by other highway authorities and instructions from central government, we are salting a reduced network of roads [all A and B roads plus roads that provide access to essential emergency services like hospitals and key fire stations]."

With national supplies already running low after last month’s inclement weather, the Government has taken over allocation to local authorities, resulting in the council’s decision to run a reduced service.

Councillor Pile added: “This is a challenging time for all road users and highway authorities. We need to conserve the salt that we have in stock and use it to best effect - in the weather conditions when it will be most useful, and on the roads where there is most traffic.

“We continue to explore all possibilities for supplementing our normal salt supplies. Even if the material we can find is not of a quality we could spread through our gritters onto the roads, we will be able to use it on priority pavements and - as we have been doing today - for refilling salt bins.”

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