Gritters at the ready to help keep Kent’s roads safe this winter

With winter around the corner, the county’s gritting teams are getting ready to hit the road. Kent County Council (KCC) says staff at highway depots have been practising the routes they will cover in the months ahead.

This year’s season runs from now up until April 19 next year, with gritting lorries sent out if temperatures are predicted to dip below 0C. Last year, crews regularly covered 58 primary main road routes using 14,445 tonnes of salt.

As well KCC efforts to keep roads safe, one KCC member, Cllr Tom Cannon, announced earlier this month he was using his community fund to pay for up to 20 new grit bins. He was concerned Allington in Maidstone[1] was running short of the yellow salt containers and decided to act.

A KCC statement said: “KCC teams plan the most efficient way to cover their routes by looking at road surface temperature sensor readings from previous years. This approach ensures primary routes most likely to ice over continue to be the ones that will be treated, reducing the amount of unnecessary gritting.

“For more residential areas that are not gritted, there are more than 3,000 salt bins around the county, which have been refilled over the summer where we have been made aware they are empty. Sufficiently stocking our salt bins means residents can make their own neighbourhoods safe if a cold snap should occur.”

Drivers are also reminded to make sure their vehicles are ready to be used in icy conditions. KCC’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, Cllr Neil Baker, said: “Every winter we rely on our team of hard-working gritters to ensure our primary road network is treated when temperatures fall.

“This year we have prepared like every other and have enough salt to see us through the cold months ahead. As ever, it is important people take responsibility and ensure their vehicles are safe before they set off.”

To find out how you can make sure you are ready for the winter weather ahead, click here[4].

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References

  1. ^ Maidstone (www.kentlive.news)
  2. ^ Kent death notices and funeral announcements this week (www.kentlive.news)
  3. ^ The area in Kent with the highest Covid rate (www.kentlive.news)
  4. ^ click here (www.kent.gov.uk)
  5. ^ HERE (www.kentlive.news)
  6. ^ . (www.hampshirelive.news)