Snow problem for Shropshire gritters
We may have warmed up after the latest cold snap, but Shropshire is well prepared for any more snow flurries.
More than 12,000 tons of salt have been stockpiled at Stafford Park, Telford, by Shropshire Council and its Highways partner Kier, and another 1,500 tons are on order.
During last week's snow storms there was traffic disruption as well as incidents including a car flipping onto its roof in Market Drayton on Wednesday and a woman became trapped in her car in Bishop's Castle for a short while. There were no serious injuries to anyone involved.
When the county is expecting to be hit with the white stuff, Shropshire Council's gritters are sent out from their five depots to pre-salt all the A and B roads, as well as localised high-risk sites and important access routes, major town centre shopping areas and heavily-used footways and cycle routes. This is to try and prevent ice forming in the first place, with post-salting taking place afterwards in extreme circumstances.
A council spokesman said: "There are hundreds of miles of roads in Shropshire and thousands of journeys to be made every day, so it’s important that we keep as many roads open as possible at all times. Throughout the year there’s a host of people working, sometimes through the night, to help you get where you need to be, even when temperatures plummet."
