Devon County Teams out gritting the roads

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The Devon County Roads and Transport Newsletter of Thursday 8th December 2022 said:

With the arrival of the forecast cold spell, our gritting teams are out in force treating roads on Devon’s primary, secondary and precautionary salting routes.

The remainder of this week is set to be the coldest of this winter so far, with The Met Office issuing a yellow weather warning in the north of the county for the possibility of icy patches, particularly on untreated surfaces, and there is the risk of wintry showers on higher ground.

And with road temperatures across the county expected to drop below zero, any water run-off from adjacent land could freeze and lead to icy patches, especially on untreated roads.

The primary salting network only covers about 20 per cent of Devon’s roads, so 80 per cent are untreated; rain will wash salt off roads leaving them prone to ice and in extreme cold even salting will not stop ice forming.

What you can do to help

  • Braking distances can be doubled in wet conditions, and multiplied by 10 on snow or ice, so reduce your speed and leave more distance between you and the car in front;
  • the county provides more than 3,500 grit bins in areas not included in the primary salting network, which you can use to help you keep your roads and pavements free of ice;
  • 325 volunteer snow wardens treat priority routes during spells of severe weather;
  • report any problems on the roads using the Web Reporting Tool 
  • if you are reporting an emergency on the highway that requires immediate attention (something that is very likely to present an imminent threat to life or serious injury or serious damage to property), please call the County team on 0345 155 1004.
  • National Highways look after the M5 motorway and trunk roads in Devon – they can be contacted on 0300 123 5000.

You can read the news release at: Roads and Transport News Update 8th December 2022