County council outlines winter roads priorities

Denbighshire County Council says that during the winter period its highways team will be out gritting, ensuring that roads are safe to use in adverse conditions. 

The spreading of salt is to prevent ice from forming on the roads when icy or frosty conditions are forecast. However, for this to be effective the salt must be crushed by traffic.

 

Denbighshire’s network covers several roads ranging from little-used rural roads and narrow tracks leading to isolated properties, to regional strategic routes such as the A55.

 

These gritted networks are currently split into nine routes. Four of those cover the north of the county running from the Kinmel depot, with the remaining five covering the middle and south of the county running from the Lon Parcwr depot in Ruthin. 

 

These nine routes cover approximately 950km, with 605km of it being treated - which is further than driving from the Ruthin depot to Penzance, Cornwall.

 

The aim is to grit priority gritting routes four hours before a minimum temperature of zero degrees.

Priority gritting routes include:

• Main classified routes (A and B roads).
• Principal bus routes.
• Access routes to hospitals, schools and cemeteries.
• Access to police, fire, ambulance and rescue services.
• Primary routes serving substantial villages/communities.
• Main industrial routes that are important to the local economy.
• Main access routes to shopping areas.
• Areas where known problems exist, such as exposed areas, steep gradients and other roads liable to icing.

 

Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: “I would like to thank the highways team for their tireless efforts during this particularly busy period, who are often on-call throughout the night to ensure that the roads are safe to use. The work they do means that residents can continue with minimal disruptions to their day and essential amenities are accessible despite the adverse weather.”