Oxfordshire,
09
November
2017
|
09:18
Europe/London

There's more to winter on the roads than salt!

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Winter Prep 2017

In the run up to the coldest and wettest months of the year the county council’s highways team has been working hard to ward off the worst the weather can throw at the roads.

Each year 57,600 gullies are cleaned to avoid delays and keep motorists safe, while the Dragon patcher works year-round on the county’s roads fixing potholes. So far this year it has fixed around 11,000 defects.

County Councillor, Yvonne Constance, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “Everyone knows about the work we do with our contractor to keep the roads salted during the winter, but the team do other things which often go unseen.

“The work they do all year to clean out gullies, which if blocked, could cause flooding on the road network and a lot of disruption to motorists, is invaluable.

“Doing this requires careful planning and commitment.”

Working with their contractors, Skanska, the county council maintains 2,800 miles of carriageway, 2,500 miles of footway and 1,000 structures.

Paul Durham, Business Director at Skanska, explained: “We work closely with the county council all year round to ensure we plan the maintenance activities to keep the roads running and motorists safe, especially when the temperatures drop in the winter months.”

While the team has a programme of planned maintenance, members of the public can report problems that they encounter via Fix My Street. Doing this means that problems such as potholes, blocked drains or broken kerbs are sent straight to the council for investigation.

You can find out more about the work of the winter gritting team here: http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/when-winter-comes--dave-and-his-fellow-gritter-drivers-are-ready-to-swing-in-to-action