Highway teams are prepared for snow
The highways teams at Warwickshire County Council are this morning on standby and monitoring the weather with wintry showers forecast to arrive from later today in Warwickshire.
Cllr Martin Heatley, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, said: “Our highways teams are in close contact with the Met Office and are prepared for the change in weather with its fleet of 31 gritting lorries and snow ploughs.”
The winter so far has been mild with 28 precautionary evening grits over the past 12 weeks. On these occasions 125 tonnes of salt are put down each night on the highway network to help make road journeys as safe as possible.
County Highways operates the fleet of vehicles from seven depots across the county in order to ensure the essential gritting operations are carried out with minimal delay. In extreme circumstances the highways teams can also call on 30 JCBs around the county for extra support.
Andrew Savage, County Highways Operations Manager, said: ”We advise drivers to take extra care in snow conditions particularly when approaching junctions. We are expecting only scattered snow falls - though should they become locally heavy - so only make essential journeys. We are informed the snow should turn to rain later on Sunday.”
Regular updates on weather and Highway conditions are being reported to local radio stations and can be seen on Warwickshire website at http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/roads
The snow clearing activities are being provided by Carillion Road Maintenance contractors who have a seven-year contract for Warwickshire.
Anthony Yates, Contract Manager, said: “We advise motorists to drive slowly and not to get too close to our gritting vehicles while the flashing lights are in operation – this means salt is being spread. On narrow streets in towns please avoid parking on paths which can block the route of gritters.”