A statement has been released by Lancashire County Council regarding preparations for winter 2014:
We do everything we can during the winter to minimise delays and accidents caused by ice and snow and to keep traffic moving on the priority roads at all times.
We also provide guidance on how to prepare for and respond to cold weather which can affect everybody’s health and wellbeing, and the importance of looking after elderly and vulnerable neighbours, friends and family members during the winter.
Winter 2013/2014
Last winter was very mild, wet and warmer than average. We used 11,734 tonnes of salt to treat ice on the highways across Lancashire, in comparison to 33,083 tonnes the previous year. Despite this, our teams were still on standby to carry out precautionary gritting treatments throughout the winter. Our winter fleet was mobilised on 264 occasions last year, compared to 336 occasions the previous year.
Forecasting the weather
Between 1 October and 30 April, the Met Office supplies us with daily weather forecasts and reports. We use this along with the data from our weather stations to gather information about road surface temperature, air temperature, humidity and an indication of rain, to make a daily decision on whether gritting is necessary.
During winter 2013/14, the weather forecast provided by the Met Office enabled us to make decisions on salt treatment on an individual route as opposed to a whole area. This new method, Route Based Forecasting, enabled us to make savings of approximately £247k last year.
Our resources
We have over 30,000 tonnes of salt and 49 gritters at our ten depots across the county. We also have the following resources ready to be used in severe weather conditions:
15 gritters to provide extra resources to treat secondary routes in severe weather;
50 hand gritters to treat footways;
Towed gritters, snow blowers and snow ploughs;
39 farmers/agricultural contractors who have equipment to carry out snow clearing and provide additional support during bad weather when our resources are stretched.
Within each of our gritters is a vehicle tracking system which allows us to keep track of when, where and what gritting activity has been undertaken. We are also introducing satellite navigation and GPS controlled automatic salting systems to some of the fleet this year allowing any driver to drive any route. This allows much more efficient and flexible use of our labour resources, particularly in severe weather situations.
Where we grit
Of the 4,300 miles of road we are responsible for, around a third (1,500 miles) are part of our priority road network for salting and snow clearing during the winter. It's not possible to grit every road in Lancashire due to cost and resources, so we chose the priority roads to keep the county moving. During freezing conditions do not assume a road has been treated and drive with caution, ice could have formed despite our efforts.
We always treat the following roads first as part of our priority road network:
Non-trunk motorways and A roads – the main routes across the county.
B roads – other main roads in and out of towns.
Single routes in and out of villages.
We also aim to treat the second most important roads during periods of continuous ice or snow, in daylight hours and after the higher priority roads have been treated. We've also identified priority footway networks in each of the districts. When we have the resources, we treat these footpaths during periods of continuous ice or snow.
The Highways Agency is responsible for gritting the M6, M55, M58, M61 and M65 to Junction 10, the A56 between the M66 and M65 and the A585 between the M55 and Fleetwood.
Grit bins
We have over 1,800 grit bins and heaps around the county. They are in key locations such as on bends and steep gradients, in villages (often near a school) and where they are most needed. We fill these before the start of winter and refill them as often as we are able to during the winter.
We will keep you updated throughout the winter when we are out gritting and with any severe weather advice or school closures: On our website www.lancashire.gov.uk/winter
Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/lancashirecc
Facebook www.facebook.com/lancashirecc - search for #lancswinter.
We will also issue regular winter bulletins to keep you updated on the weather forecast and gritting activity during severe weather.
If you have any queries please contact the customer service centre on 0300 123 6780 or email highways@lancashire.gov.uk.
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