Warwickshire County Council is celebrating the dedication and professionalism of its gritting teams following extensive efforts to keep the county moving in the recent cold snap of weather.
Between 5 and 10 January, the Council’s highways teams carried out 11 gritting runs, spreading around 3,000 tonnes of salt across Warwickshire’s road network. Each gritting run covered approximately 1,100 miles, equating to a total of more than 12,100 miles treated over the six-day period.
Storm Goretti brought particularly challenging conditions, prompting the fitting of snow ploughs to gritters for the first time since the “Beast from the East” in February 2018. During the height of the storm, teams carried out four gritting runs within a 24-hour period at 1:00pm, 5:30pm, 9:00pm and 1:00am, using approximately 1,000 tonnes of salt to keep key routes open and safe.
The overall highways response to the storm involved a significant mobilisation of staff and resources. Over the week, the operation included 58 gritter drivers, 10 supervisors, 20 plough mates, two County Fleet Maintenance vehicle technicians, and a duty manager, contributing to around 2,200 person-hours of work. Additional day crews were deployed on Friday to maintain resilience as severe conditions continued.
Cllr Jennifer Warren, Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder for Transport and Planning, said: “Storm Goretti tested our winter service teams in some of the most challenging conditions we’ve seen in years. The commitment shown by our gritter drivers, supervisors, fleet technicians and support staff was exceptional, with crews working around the clock to keep Warwickshire’s roads as safe and accessible as possible.
“Fitting ploughs for the first time since 2018 underlines just how severe this weather event was, and I would like to personally thank everyone involved for their professionalism, teamwork and dedication in protecting our communities.”
Warwickshire County Council continues to monitor weather conditions closely and reminds residents to take extra care when travelling during winter weather, checking conditions before setting out wherever possible.
More information about Road and Transport in Warwickshire can be found on the website: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/roadsandtransport