Milton Keynes City Council has been getting prepared to keep the city moving safely through the winter months. Between October and April, gritting crews are on standby 24/7, including weekends and holidays, and can be called out at any hour to respond immediately to icy conditions. The city council’s first run happened earlier this week.
Over the winter:
- Eight gritting lorries will cover the priority routes across Milton Keynes.
- 3,250 tonnes of rock salt is kept at our salt barn in Bleak Hall.
- More than 400 yellow grit bins placed at key points around the city for local people to use have been checked and topped up.
It takes around three hours for all the scheduled ‘Priority 1’ routes to be covered by the eight gritting lorries.
The highways team use hourly weather forecasts and local weather monitoring stations around the city to track road surface temperatures to anticipate when frost or ice is on the way. If temperatures are forecast to fall below freezing, crews will spread rock salt on main roads before frost develops.
Rock salt mixes with the road surface water to make it saline which will only start to freeze around minus 10 degrees Celsius. It is also coated in a molasses-based substance to help it stick to the road surface better.
Councillor Jennifer Wilson-Marklew, Cabinet Member for Highways, said:
“We know how important it is to keep Milton Keynes moving safely during the winter months. Our teams are ready 24/7 to respond to changing weather conditions and keep priority routes safe for all users when they are travelling around the city.”
Residents can follow live updates on gritting activity via the city council’s social media channels. All priority gritting routes are listed on its website here.