Gritters on standby as winter approaches

Gritter crews and decision makers from the county council’s highways team will be ready around the clock to cover nearly half of Hertfordshire's entire road network – that’s more than 1,500 miles (2,500km).

Phil Bibby, Executive Member for Highways and Transport at Hertfordshire County Council, said: “We are prepared for our winter season, which starts at the beginning of October.

"We’ve made sure our gritters are ready, our salt stocks in the depots are high and that the county’s 1,000-plus salt bins are topped up before freezing weather arrives. Our crews will now be on standby 24 hours a day until the end of April, ready to deal with whatever the weather throws at us.

“We don’t know how much, if any, snow and ice we’ll see this winter, but I am confident that our highways teams are organised and we will do everything we can to keep the county’s roads open and safe, whatever the weather.”

Hertfordshire’s gritters are sent out when road surface temperatures are forecast to be 0.5°c, or below.

They will, where practical and accessible, grit roads to schools, care homes, doctor’s surgeries, key pharmacies and libraries, as well as all the county’s A and B roads, bus routes (including school bus routes), roads with a 10% gradient or steeper and at least one route into every village. Residents can do their bit by parking sensibly and not blocking roads.

Hertfordshire County Council also supplies salt to schools if they request it, to help them stay open during icy weather. They will also supply district, borough, parish and town councils on request, so they can use their local knowledge to identify exactly where best to use the salt during severe weather.

Community groups and residents associations can also access free gritting salt and so far this year over 200 local groups have placed orders.

Application forms can be found at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/applyforsalt and must be received by the county council by Thursday, 31 October.

For more information about Hertfordshire County Council’s winter service programme, including the routes that they grit, or to receive real-time updates direct to your computer or mobile phone, visit www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/salting. You can also find information on how to clear snow and ice yourself.

You can also find out the latest salting decisions by following the county council’s highways team on X via #grittertwitter on www.x.com/Herts_Highways