Gritting (winter service)
Updates and latest news
1 February 2012 update
The gritters were out gritting at 1pm today and will be monitoring closely.
26 January 2012 update
The gritters will be out tonight at 7pm .
16 January 2012 update
The gritters will be out tonight at 5pm spreading 15g/m2. A hoar frost and low confidence on ice is forecast.
30 November 2011 update
The gritting teams are already going out and about in Walsall. Gritters are getting updates from the weather centre and expecting snow the week beginning 29 November 2010. The team will be sending gritters out with ploughs when required.
The team gritted between 2200 and 0600 this morning. The highways are now heavily salted. The teams are monitoring the weather as snow showers are possible today. If the snow starts to settle the teams will send gritters out as required. The team is also clearing snow & ice in the Town Centre and district centres.
Updates can also be found on Walsall Council's Twitter
or Walsall Council's Facebook
What is winter service?
Winter service is snow and ice clearance, or the precautionary spreading of salt on highways to prevent ice from forming. As a caring council we wish to reduce the impact bad weather has on residents and users of the borough's highways by achieiving the following aims:
- Minimise the loss of life and injury to highway users, including pedestrians, and preventing damage to vehicles and other property.
- Keep the highway free from obstruction and thereby avoid unnecessary hinderance to travel.
Grit boxes
Grit boxes are filled up prior to the winter period. They are continualy filled as/when needed.
All the boxes are located where we have steep gradients or difficult junctions within the borough. The locations are agreed annually by cabinet as are the gritting routes. The boxes are for the sole use of local residents in that particular street. The grit can be used on the highway or pavement (not on drives).
Grit box map (click on image for full size)
- View the locations of grit boxes in your area with map (PDF 3.48MB)
- Grit box locations without map (PDF 66KB)
What can I expect from winter service?
The full winter service operates from the 1 November to 31 March the following year. A limited response to bad weather is also available in October and April.
The total length of roads in the borough is approximately 532 miles (856km) of which 218 miles (351km) are salted; this is equivalent to 41% of the roads in the borough.
Footways and minor roads are not routinely treated, but snow and ice removal is undertaken if possible where normal council duties are prevented, such as road repairs or grounds maintenance.
How does it work?
We receive weather forecasts from the MeteoGroup UK Road Cast service, which uses data from road sensors throughout the West Midlands. The decision to spread salt on roads depends on a number of factors, not just air temperature. We follow the procedure recommended in the Code of Practice for Maintenance Management – Well-maintained Highways.
What do you expect from me?
- Remember rules 203-206 in the Highway Code about driving in icy and snowy weather; they help to ensure your safety and that of other road users and pedestrians
- Please ensure that your vehicle is serviced for the winter with enough anti-freeze, tyres with the right depth of tread, and effective windscreen wipers and washers
- In bad weather listen to local traffic and weather reports before your journey, and then consider if your journey is essential
- In poor conditions keep your speed down, use dipped headlights, look out for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists and leave plenty of room in front of you – up to ten times the normal distance may be required if you have to stop
- Be aware that a road may not be treated along its whole length and that treatment does not guarantee that the road is free of ice and snow
Contact us
Roadworks Management
Engineering and Transportation
Civic Centre
Darwall Street
Walsall
WS1 1DG
Telephone 01922 653781
Emai roadworksmanagement@walsall.gov.uk
This page was last updated on 01 February 2012