Roads

Road Gritting

Winter Maintenance Service

We have a reputation for delivering a highly efficient Winter Maintenance Service. We have previously received praise from the Mayor of London for the quality of our service.

The reasons for this are:

A comprehensive winter maintenance policy and a robust winter maintenance plan
A pro-active approach to gritting and clearance of snow/ice
Committed Officers with years of experience in dealing with winter weather conditions

Why do we do it?

We have a legal responsibility to maintain clear and safe passage along the highway including the clearance of snow and ice.

As a caring Council we wish to reduce the impact bad weather has on residents and users of the borough's highways by achieving 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 avoiding unnecessary hindrance to passage

Why salt?

We use rock salt because it lowers the freezing point of water by introducing foreign particles into moisture melting ice and preventing refreezing. When the salt content has dissipated the grit residue will further remove ice by friction. The carriageway or footway needs to be trafficked for this to happen.

How do we deliver the Winter Maintenance Service?

Where do we do it?

Precautionary salting

Precautionary salting is carried out on carriageways on pre-determined routes. This keeps the main arterial roads open in times of severe conditions provides a network of roads that the workforce can use when snow/ice clearance is needed.

We have 3 primary routes and 3 secondary routes.

Primary routes consist of:

Class A and B roads and bus routes
Other roads forming part of the main traffic systems
Barking Town Centre Pedestrian Precinct
Other roads that have been identified as particularly hazardous in frosty/icy conditions

The 3 primary routes have a combined length of approximately 63km and 11 tonnes of salt are used on a 10g/m2 gritting run.

In times of severe frost and icy conditions Secondary routes will be pre-salted.

These routes consist of:

Heavily trafficked distributor and district roads
School routes not covered in the primary routes
Other roads known to be prone to frost and ice and not covered on the primary routes

The secondary routes have a combined length of 72km and 9 tonnes of salt are used on a 10g/m2 gritting run. (These roads are narrower, hence less salt is used).

Precautionary salting routes are determined using nationally agreed criteria and local knowledge.

Post salting and footway clearance

Salt is spread on ice that has formed. Carriageways will be salted using our gritters. District roads will be gritted when all primary and secondary routes are clear.

Footways will be cleared using priorities detailed in the Winter Maintenance Plan. Shopping centres, links to hospitals/fire stations/police stations and near old peoples homes. The teams normally responsible for street cleaning are fully trained and will clear the footways as directed by Highways officers.

Salt

We are currently holding approximately 2,000 tonnes of salt. This is more than sufficient to cover the winter period but if there are extreme weather conditions we are able to get further stocks within 48 hours. Weather forecasts will give us up to 5 days notice of any extreme conditions expected.

Gritting equipment and manpower

We have 4 gritters permanently operational and can call on 4 more gritting bodies that can be mounted on flat beds if necessary.

We have sufficient drivers to carry out round the clock working and can call on 100 personnel to clear footways.

When do we do it?

We have a contract with The Met Office and receive 4 weather forecasts a day, 7 days a week and 5 day weather forecasts twice a week. These forecasts are far more detailed than those seen on the television and specific to areas in Greater London.

Experienced officers who have received training from The Met Office analyse these reports and make a decision on the treatment required. Instructions are then passed to Highway Supervisors and the gritting teams.

Precautionary salting is generally carried out overnight but where necessary will be done during normal working hours and is completed within 3 hours.

Post salting and ice clearance is carried out whenever necessary until all highways are cleared. Operations may carry on outside of working hours but not continue round the clock.

Extended periods of ice or snow will result in an Ice Emergency being declared and 24 hour working may occur.

What don't we do?

We don't carry out precautionary salting on any footways except for the pedestrian precinct in Barking Town Centre
We do not carry out gritting on private land
We do not sell salt. Stocks are precious and have to be carefully managed. If you are aware that a location needs salting, let us know and we will carry out the salting
We do not salt or clear ice from parks
We do not leave ice and snow on the highway. We will carry on treating the highway until it is safe

How can you help?

There are several ways that you can help us in providing a good service

Let us know of any problems. We cannot be everywhere and you can help us by calling Customer First
Be patient. We cannot get to everything immediately but we will get to you