The Highland Council is ready for winter

The Highland Council’s winter service starts today (Monday 14 October) and the Council is ready to treat - according to its policy - the 6,785km of roads for which it has responsibility.

Chair of the Council’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Ken Gowans said: “I’m pleased to report that we have all the supplies and resources in place to provide a winter service according to the Council’s policy.  Council roads and pavements are gritted as specified within the council’s agreed winter service policy.

“Service levels throughout the local Areas will remain, essentially, unchanged from last year.  When required, and when weather conditions allow, operations, Monday to Sunday, start at 6am and continue until 9pm, on a priority basis. There is no overnight service. On days classed as public holidays a restricted service is provided which starts at 7am.

He added: “When it comes to winter gritting, we are grateful for the great support we received last year from most members of the public who showed great awareness and understanding of taking extra precautions when travelling in bad weather and checking before setting out on journeys. I would also like to recognise the work of our staff who work hard, often in extreme weather conditions, to keep routes open.

“We will continue to do what it can within our resources and policy however, I would encourage communities to come forward and apply for winter resilience assistance from the Council that will provide them with salt in grit bins or heaps and other equipment to take action in their local areas that are important to them.”

Community groups, volunteer groups and individuals who require further information or are wanting to access the Winter Resilience Programme can contact their Area Roads Office by email. Information is on the Council’s website -  The winter fleet mobilisation programme is complete and includes vehicle servicing and calibration of salt spreading equipment.  The fleet includes over a hundred gritters, footpath tractors and over 200 staff providing winter services.

The council can confirm it has adequate salt stocks for the region of 40,000 tonnes for the start of the main winter season and that there are no concerns about future provision of deliveries from the council’s supplier.

Cllr Gowans added a warning. He said: “Salting will not prevent roads from icing up in extreme conditions. This is particularly relevant on low traffic roads where there are insufficient vehicle movements to aid the interaction between the salt and the ice crystals, so we urge drivers to be extra careful driving in these conditions.”

•  Drivers should take account of prevailing weather and road conditions.
• Winter weather conditions within the Highlands can be very localised.
• Black ice can be a particular danger. You cannot see it and it can still be there even after treatment.
• Dawn frosts can also catch drivers unaware. At first light a clear sky will allow heat to radiate quickly from the road surface causing icy patches to form on wet or damp roads.

Staff involved in winter services provision at area level are trained in using the Council’s weather forecasting service. The forecasts are used each year to assist local decision-making on daily and longer-term winter services actions.

Area Winter Service Plans are set by Area Committees within Council strategy and budget allocated by the Economy and Infrastructure Committee.  The current Winter Service maps for each area will shortly be available from the Council’s website.

Trunk roads in Highland are the responsibility of Transport Scotland and their operators Bear Scotland and AMEY.