SALT stocks have been replenished in Wrexham ready for this winter.
Wrexham Council’s gritters are currently running their gritting rota which starts in October, through to the end of March, though this can be extended to April if poor conditions continue.
The council said it is fully prepared to deal with “any weather emergency” to ensure safe travelling and recommends everyone stay up to date with the forecast.
A spokesperson said: “We receive weather and road surface temperature forecast daily throughout the winter and decisions are taken around 1pm each day based on the forecast for the following 24 hours. Monitoring road conditions via our forecast provider and our weather stations continues 24/7.
“The teams are always on standby to respond to any precautionary treatment or reactive treatment necessary in the event of any unexpected change in the forecast or road conditions.
“We have three salt barns – one in Chirk, one in Llay and one in Wrexham Industrial Estate. Having three means routes can be accessed quickly and it meant we could increase our storage capacity to 10,000 tonnes.
“We’ve replenished our salt stocks in readiness for the upcoming winter season and our gritter drivers have been busy refreshing their training in readiness and have already started their gritting duty rota which this runs from October through to the end of March. If poor conditions continue this will be extended into April.”
They added: “We also have plans in place to cover extended periods of severe weather which includes plans to grit housing estates (where it’s safe to do so) before bin collections and to keep areas such as sheltered accommodation and school routes as clear and as safe as possible.”
The council has to be careful not to grit too early, as this can get washed away by rain, but also need to be careful not to grit too late and leave drivers with a slippery ride.
Advice from the council is as follows: “Please also look out for your elderly relatives or vulnerable neighbours. Poor weather can mean they face greater difficulties when carrying out every day basic tasks such as shopping for essentials. Please offer help where you can – it could make all the difference to someone who can’t get out on their own.”
