This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
New salt barn at Deddington being used to house salt to grit our roads
22/11/2024
Locally the County Council has responsibility for all A, B and some C roads, apart from the M40, A43 and A34
A new salt barn at Oxfordshire County Council’s Deddington highways depot is now being used to store 2,800 tonnes of road salt to treat the area’s roads in the cold weather. That’s enough to grit over 23,333km of local routes.
The barn keeps road salt in the optimum conditions for spreading, both avoiding wastage and ensuring that the salt is more effective, so smaller quantities can be used.
The Deddington facility compliments storage in other parts of the county, with more than 10,000 tonnes of salt available to the council’s winter maintenance team.
Cold weather preparations in Oxfordshire have been boosted by the arrival of a new fleet of gritting vehicles, consisting of sixteen 26 tonne trucks, eleven 18 tonne vehicles, two 7.5 tonne trucks and one 3.5 tonne ‘baby gritter’, which can be used to treat very narrow roads and Oxford’s park and rides. In total, 30 vehicles are stationed at three winter depots across the county, ready for when the temperatures drop.
A winter service crew of 60 highly skilled drivers have all undertaken familiarisation sessions to get them used to the new trucks and some drivers have also completed additional skid pan training at a specialist training centre in Hampshire.
Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “We are committed to keeping our network of major roads free from ice and snow to minimise the risk of accidents and ensure the smooth flow of traffic. This investment in new equipment and skills demonstrates how serious we are about it.”
In North Oxfordshire the County Council has responsibility for all A roads, B roads and some C roads, apart from the M40, A43 and A34, which are covered by National Highways.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam