Every year Carmarthenshire spends in excess of £1 Million on the winter maintenance of Trunk and County Roads.
The roads are salted when there is a risk of ice, and during severe weather, cleared of snow.
This service is designed to make driving in Carmarthenshire as safe as possible in what can sometimes be appalling conditions. In Carmarthenshire there are around 3,526 kilometres of road and approximately 28% are treated when weather conditions demand it.
The Facts
Gritter Lorries will treat some 28% of the 3,338 Kilometres of roads in the county when necessary.
Staff will also be on standby 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to the changing weather and road conditions.
Around 935 kilometres of road across Carmarthenshire is salted within three hours of a bad weather warning.
The first priority is given to trunk and primary roads, followed by principle routes, roads leading to importnat industrial and military establishments, hospitals, ambulance stations, fire stations, inter-city stations, bus garages, important bus routes, slip roads and known trouble spots.
Secondary priority is given to shopping streets, other trouble and accident spots and other bus routes.
Carmarthenshire County Council has been appointed by The National Assembly for Wales as Agent for Trunk Roads within the West Wales Area and 100% of Trunk Roads are treated when winter conditions demand. Throughout the winter the County Council provides 24 hours a day cover, 7 days per week, in order to be able to respond to the ever changing weather and road conditions.
When does the County Council salt the highways?
The Department continuously receives weather forecast information from the MET Office Weather Centre at Cardiff and gritting actions is prepared if poor road conditions are predicted. It is also able to monitor data obtainable from weather outstations that have been installed on Trunk and Principal Roads in the West Wales Region.
Once the decision to salt the roads is taken, approximately 935 kilometres are treated usually within three hours. NOT ALL roads are salted. If snow should fall, snow clearing work will come into operation across the whole County. The first priority is given to trunk and primary routes, followed by principal roads, roads leading to important industrial and military establishments, hospitals, ambulance stations, fire stations, inter-city stations, bus garages, important bus routes, important journey to work routes, slip roads, and known trouble spots. As a second priority, treatment is given to known trouble and accident spots (not on the first priority routes), other bus routes, main feeder routes and shopping streets.
Resources
During the winter period Carmarthenshire County Council’s Highways Division has to resource a large fleet of specialist vehicles with highly trained drivers in order to provide cover for our priority routes. It has in stock over 9,500 Tonnes of salt, most of which are stored under cover in Salt Barns.