With winter fast approaching, Cumbria Highways is preparing to keep the county moving through the worst of the weather.

Snow, frost and black ice can create treacherous conditions on the roads and underfoot, but with a 30-strong fleet of specialist gritters and a host of other vehicles on standby, Cumbria is more than ready for whatever winter throws up.

During high season the Cumbria Highways winter maintenance teams are on call 24 hours a day and operate from a series of depots across the county.

They grit a core network of priority routes covering 1,200 miles that are chosen to maintain transport connections for as many communities as possible.

With each full grit run on all of the priority routes using around 300 tonnes of rock salt, the county keeps a stock of approximately 18,000 tonnes of salt at huge barns in main highways depots.

As well as a dedicated team of professionals and highly capable fleet of vehicles, Cumbria Highways has state of the art forecasting technology at its disposal.

Specialised weather forecasts are provided by MeteoGroup. These are aimed specifically at forecasting road conditions and use information from the county's network of road surface sensors and weather stations. This is then analysed with global meteorological data from satellites and aircraft as well as from other sources including weather balloon launches in Northumberland - ensuring gritters are ready to go into action at the correct time.

Weather prediction plays a vital role in winter maintenance as the rock salt is more effective if it can be spread before the ice or snow arrives.

Residents are also kept well informed of the service we provide to help people plan their journeys on the safest possible routes. Every household in the county will receive a leaflet showing the roads that get treated as a priority when winter bites.

In addition to gritting the main roads, we provide salt heaps and bins as a self-help service for road users. These are usually to be found on steep hills or bends.

In unusually extreme conditions, Cumbria Highways will bring in extra assistance from local contractors to help clear roads of snow and keep the county moving.

Alan Clark, Cumbria County Council cabinet member responsible for highways, said: 'Cumbria Highways has all the resources at its disposal to tackle winter weather on the county’s roads.

'It’s vital to keep traffic moving, particularly in a county like Cumbria where the weather can sometimes be exceptionally harsh.

'The equipment and staff are all in place to keep the priority routes clear of hazards such as frost, snow and black ice.' 

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Media enquiries to media officer John Ballard on 01228 226332.