Ross and Cromarty winter maintenance plan approved
The priorities with which The Highland Council will grit roads in Ross and Cromarty this winter have been approved by Councillors.
Twenty four gritters and 11 footpath tractors all with dedicated routes are on standby to treat a road network of 592km primary routes (32%), 522km of secondary routes (28%) and 756km of other routes (40%) in the area.
Primary routes are treated first, followed by secondary routes and crews will only move on to treat other roads when the primary and secondary routes are all completed. Exception to this will be where a gritter has to travel across a secondary or other route to treat a higher priority road.
The routes have been set within the context of the Council’s current Winter Maintenance Policy which is in place to ensure a consistent level of service is applied across all areas of the Highlands. Each year local areas put in place their Winter Maintenance Plan to cover the operational details in order to deliver a service locally within existing budget and resources.
A difference this year is the equalisation of the winter service on Saturdays and Sundays. At the August meeting of the Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee it was agreed to provide the same level of treatment on Saturdays and Sundays. As the winter maintenance budget remains the same, the Saturday service is reduced and the Sunday service increased. On both days the weekend service will start at 6am for both primary and secondary routes excluding school transport routes. The aim is to have all secondary routes completed by 10.30am. There are no changes to the service from Monday to Friday from previous years. Maps of the routes for weekend service and week day service are available on the council’s website www.highland.gov.uk/gritting
A team of 35 fulltime dedicated winter roads operatives will be delivering winter maintenance supported by 13 staff from the Amenity, Streets and Waste team to support the footpath treatment. A standby system will be in place to ensure sufficient drivers are available to cover weekend.
The average annual usage of salt to treat council roads in Ross and Cromarty is approximately 15,000 tonnes and there is sufficient salt in stock spread across depots to meet this requirement.
During the Ross and Cromarty Committee held in Dingwall yesterday (Thursday 1 November) members were advised that, as in previous years, over the winter a Duty Officer rota will be in place to ensure that there is always a qualified and experienced member of staff available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to take decisions on the deployment of appropriate resources to deal with prevailing weather conditions.
Across Ross and Cromarty the council has access to real time data from icelert sites and these sensors provide information on the road surface temperature, surface condition and the presence of salt. This information allows council staff to react to local conditions.
During adverse weather morning treatments on the A832 Braemore Junction to Gorsten Junction, the B817 Kildary to Evanton and the A862 Ardullie Roundabout to Dingwall will begin at 5am.
Chair of the Committee, Councillor Fiona Robertson said: “The message is that we are ready for winter and along with our Trunk Road partners we will do all the best that we can to keep people on the roads.”
She added: “Staff who will be delivering the service this winter are well trained and each year work hard to ensure we can travel around on the road network safely. Throughout the coming winter we will monitor the agreed plan to make sure we cover any changes in weather using our existing resources to best effect.
“However, we all have a duty to take responsibility for our own personal safety which is why I encourage drivers to be aware of our gritting policy as it is simply not possible to treat every road at the same time. People also need to be aware this year to the changes to Saturday and Sunday services. We all need to be well prepared before driving in winter weather and drive according to conditions.”
Details of the Ross and Cromarty priority routes and winter services information can be found by visiting the council’s website www.highland.gov.uk/gritting