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Search forDevon agencies share base to make road gritting more cost-effective
Saturday, November 15, 2008, 07:02
They plan to spend about £5m on gritting when the temperature falls to cover the staff, materials and vehicles at 15 depots across the county.
To save money, only 20 per cent of Devon's roads are gritted and motorists are being advised to take more care as new figures show 50 per cent would continue with a journey after hearing a severe weather warning; and around a third would not carry out any checks on their vehicles before heading out.
For the first year, Devon County Council and Highways Agency workers are sharing the same Exeter headquarters, to improve communication and reduce costs.
They used to be based next to each other in Sowton Industrial Estate and other council staff were in Marsh Barton. The two organisations are still responsible for different road networks, with the county council in control of most routes and the Highways Agency for major trunk roads, such as the M5 and dual carriageways.
Roads gritted by the Sowton teams are the commuter routes into the city and the A30 and A38 westbound to Whiddon Down and Buckfastleigh, respectively.
They also grit some of the roads to Exmouth.
Every winter, the county council spends £4m on gritting and the Highways Agency team £1m.
Workers usually decide by lunchtime if they will need to grit that night, but extreme weather might lead to them going out twice.
They are also available to be called out 24 hours a day if there is a sudden snowfall or icy patch.
The gritters have already been out this year four times, including last Tuesday.
Chris Cranston, the council's operations manager, said: "What we look for is if ice is expected or there is a low temperature and moisture in the air.
"In Devon, we treat 20 per cent of the road network. To do all roads would not be cost effective.
"We grit key roads, which are essential to keep open and moving."
Highways Agency route performance manager Nigel Dyson said: "It's absolutely key we are here in Sowton, for access and the communications process.
"We are urging people to be more prepared for different weather conditions and respect them.
"The weather might be getting milder, but we should expect heavier rain. Water on the roads can be dangerous."
The Highways Agency's new winter fleet of gritters have cleaner engines and will use less salt through a new pre-wet process.
Drivers of the new vehicles also have state of the art GPS tracking technology on board, which means the agency knows where each vehicle is.
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