15 November 2006
ROADS SERVICE PREPARES FOR WINTER - EASTERN
Road Service is preparing for the forthcoming winter season.
Although this has been the mildest Autumn for many years with overnight temperatures well above average, Tom McCourt, Divisional Roads Manager for Roads Service, Eastern Division , is under no illusions about the scale of the challenge ahead.
Mr McCourt said: "Despite the mild weather experienced in October, Roads Service has made preparations for the forthcoming winter season. During this winter period, the Division will have 126 people on stand-by to ensure that salt is spread at the most effective times to keep main road traffic moving safely and freely in wintry conditions. There are approximately 16,000 tonnes of salt stored in depots across the Division which will be applied by a fleet of 28 gritters. The total length of the salted road network within the Division is 1,450 kilometres (907 miles) and we aim to complete this onerous task in just over 3 hours at an operational cost of over £17,000 on each call-out."
Mr McCourt warned: "Despite the extensive planning and skills in applying the use of the specialised Met Office ice prediction and weather forecasting technology, we must accept that we are dealing with mother-nature and it is a battle against the natural elements. I must stress that ice-free roads cannot be guaranteed. There is always the risk of rain washing salt off the road surface just before temperatures drop below zero. This means that during a salting operation, the road condition can change to a dangerous state. As the Met Office cannot guarantee 100% accuracy in their forecasts, road users must play their part by taking special care during wintry conditions.
"The best advice is in the Highway Code - drive with care even if roads have been salted; be prepared for road conditions changing over short distances and take care when overtaking gritters."
DRD Roads Service salts main roads carrying more than 1,500 vehicles per day as well as other busy routes with special difficulties (e.g. steep hills) that carry over 1,000 vehicles per day. In applying the criteria, service buses and school buses get a high weighting - a 40 seater bus is counted as 40 vehicles. Small settlements of more than 100 dwellings each have a salted link via the shortest route to the salted network and consideration is given to placing grit piles or salt boxes at hills, bends or junctions on roads that are not salted. In total, an operation on this scale of will cost around £1m across the Division during the winter.
Roads Service engineers take informed decisions with the assistance of the latest technology which includes ice sensors linked to 20 weather stations located across Northern Ireland and thermal mapping of all roads on the network. The Met Office uses information from these stations along with their own data to provide forecasts which are transmitted electronically to the engineers.
Roads Service endeavours to keep road users informed about road conditions and salting activities by relaying information to the broadcast.
Mr McCourt said: "The winter period can be especially hazardous giving rise to extremely dangerous driving conditions. The worst problems normally occur during heavy and prolonged snowfall and this is where there is the high risk of traffic congestion. Although snowfall is rare, we can fit snow ploughs very quickly to our gritter fleet and we may spread salt at up to three times the normal rate. The clearing of snow is much more difficult than dealing with frost because of the large volume of frozen material. The best advice is to make only essential journeys during severe weather conditions.
"Our policy when confronted with snow, is to initially clear the motorway and trunk routes before moving to other main roads. The operation will continue until all roads are cleared but this may take some time even with all resources deployed. In very difficult snow conditions, we will make the best use from the Roads Service overall fleet of 11 snow blowers; the latest of which can displace 1,600 tons of snow an hour. Arrangements are also in place to enlist the help of contractors, including farmers to clear blocked roads,'' said Mr McCourt.
A winter service leaflet is also available to help inform the public about winter driving and is available by calling 02890 540540 or from the website at www.roadsni.gov.uk.
Eastern Division covers the Belfast, Lisburn, Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus, North Down and Castlereagh Council areas.
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