Yahoo News This is how Highways teams work day and night to keep Gloucestershire's 3,696 miles of road open in winter
There are 3,696 miles of roads across Gloucestershire which Highways teams work day and night to keep open in the winter by gritting and responding major storms which can lead to flooded roads and fallen trees. The Local Democracy Reporting Service visited the Stroudwater Depot just off the M5 near Stonehouse this week to get a glimpse of the work that goes on behind the scenes.
It’s one of the highways depots where Gloucestershire County Council base their gritters and teams who work on the roads and help motorists get through whatever the weather throws at them. Highways has a fleet of 29 gritting vehicles making sure main routes across the county are safe to drive.
And they store 11,400 tonnes of rock salt in storage domes across four depots in the county from the start of the season. They decide when to carry out precautionary salting using regular weather forecasts available to Gloucestershire by their forecast provider computerised ice prediction system which compares forecast conditions against actual road temperatures measured at 12 weather stations around the county as well as additional four ground sensors.
READ MORE: Large quantity of diesel stolen off back of lorry among latest crimes in Gloucestershire
Local knowledge, training and experience of the various duty managers also determines when best to carry out precautionary treatments on the network from the guidance provided within our adverse weather plan and National Guidance.
In some cases, even if freezing temperatures are predicted, there may be no need for precautionary salting, for example, when there is enough salt left on the road from the previous run, or no rain has fallen and the roads are dry.
"We aim to have salt on the network before ice would form on road surfaces. Depending on the forecast, sometimes we may carry out more than one salt run in a 24-hour period," a highways spokesperson said.
When icy road conditions are forecast precautionary salting will be carried out on the strategic road network which is made up of:
Class A and B roads
Roads leading to main hospitals, ambulance stations, police stations and fire stations
Some strategic public transport routes
Roads serving main shopping centres
Roads leading to the majority of secondary schools
“Our main decision indicator is the road surface temperature, not the air temperature. The strategic road network covers approximately 28 per cent of Gloucestershire’s total roads. We also refer to this road network as our ‘primary’ or ‘key’ routes. These routes are reviewed on an annual basis.
“During prolonged severe winter weather conditions, when time allows and resources are available, salting may also be carried out on the secondary road network.”
The extent of the secondary road network to be treated will be determined at the discretion of the local Area Highways Manager on the basis of prevailing weather conditions and resource availability and may include:
Major bus routes, those operated every two hours or more frequently, not covered by the strategic road network.
Routes next to major schools and colleges provided treatments can be completed by 8am hrs using available spreading equipment.
Other locations where high traffic volume or local conditions dictate as well as access into rural communities.
Highways bosses expect that each salting route will take approximately three hours to complete. All routes are done simultaneously.
And grit bins are provided by Gloucestershire Highway at strategic locations or by town and parish councils at agreed locations. There are more than 4,800 grit bins for the public to use.
“We refill the bins before each winter season and encourage town and parish councils to hold stocks of bagged salt to replenish bins during the winter and treat local problem areas if local resources are available,” a spokesperson said.
“Empty grit bins and damaged grit bins can be reported using Fix My Street. Please be aware that during periods of severe winter weather Highway’s resources are generally prioritised on a 24-hour shift pattern to maintaining the strategic road network.
“Resources are therefore unlikely to be available for restocking of bins. We work with our Parish and Town Councils in these situations to provide that community self help.
“New grit bins are not provided by Highways apart from some strategic locations; however, bins can be provided by the local parish or town councils if the location is agreed in writing by Highways.”
Gloucestershire also relies on community action in keeping the harder to reach and less frequented roads open. The county has a network of snow wardens and snow plough operators, often farmers, and they say this local self-help plays a vital role in helping to deal with snowfall.
“Plough Operators can foster and encourage the voluntary spirit that is so apparent in emergencies to organise and direct local resources to best effect,” a spokesperson said.
“The voluntary roles are normally appointed by Parish Councils. We rely on their help to make arrangements for the clearance of blockages on local roads and routes leading to villages and hamlets while Gloucestershire Highways resources are prioritised in maintaining the strategic road network.”
During periods of severe winter weather snow wardens report information on snow conditions to their nearest Highways Area Office. The Area Office may request that the snow warden brings into operation any available local snow ploughs as necessary.
In the event of extreme conditions, the warden may initiate such operations and report emergency actions at the earliest opportunity to the Area Office.
“We must have snow plough operators booked in and off the network through the local depot to ensure we are aware of who is out and about as well as for duty of care for our volunteers. Gloucestershire County Council will pay for equipment operated on the legitimate authority of a Snow Warden.
"Snow Ploughs and other equipment provided by the council are solely for use on the public highway for the general community benefit.”
Part of the community response which is also vital in keeping roads open is the winter action plans done by town and parish councils. They identify local priority areas and the documents set out how communities manage their response during winter conditions including the treatment of priority locations with either a hand salt spreader and/or the use of bagged salt to either replenish grit bins or deal with local problem areas, co-ordinating with their local parish snow wardens and snow plough operators.
“Each community has different availability and their plans reflect this and their commitment when resources are available. We encourage Parish and Town Councils to develop winter action plans to deal with local issues and promote community self-help,” a highways spokesperson said.
A major improvement implemented by Gloucestershire County Council this year has been the proactive approach to gully clearing to avoid flash flooding. There was an extraordinary amount of rainfall in September - Gloucestershire received more than three times its annual September rainfall.
And council leader Stephen Davies (C, Hardwicke and Severn) is very pleased with the progress. He said of the 34 routes which were closed due to flash flooding in September, 32 cleared by themselves and did not need further intervention.
"We now clear all gullies at least once a year and critical ones more," he said.
"It always impresses me how had working, dedicated and flexible our Highways staff are. They fix potholes, clear gullies, grit our roads and handle flooding on the network. We should all be grateful to them."
A highways spokesperson said their teams have been working extremely hard to deal with the recent heavy rainfall and flooding in the county. Each year they clear more than 130k drains across the county.
"Every week we clear more than 1,000 drains in routine clearing operations," a spokesperson said. “Every drain in the county is cleared at least once per year, some more often.
"Sometimes during very heavy rain even a clear drain can be overwhelmed. But our proactive approach to drain clearing means that most flash floods subside quickly.
“Almost all affected roads are clear within 24hrs. If any flash floods persist you can let us know using Fix My Street. At this time of year lots of leaves are falling from the trees, which combined with very heavy rain can cause issues.
“Residents can help by moving leaves away from drains (if safe to do so) and adding them to your garden waste bin or a compost heap. Otherwise, you can report blocked drains online using Fix My Street.
“We experienced over three times the number of out of hours callouts during September compared to the previous three years, and more than twice the number of in hours call outs.
“We still managed to attend nearly 90 per cent of these callouts within the two hour target time. Our teams have been working round the clock to keep the network safe and to keep roads open wherever possible.
“A list of current road closures is available on our website and latest updates can be found by following glos roads on social media.”
