Highways Adverse Weather & Winter Service Plan

Winter Service Plan

The County Council aims to provide a Winter Service which, as far as is reasonably practicable, will facilitate the safe movement of vehicular traffic on the strategically important sections of the highway network and keep to a minimum delays and accidents due to adverse weather conditions.

Carmarthenshire has the second largest highway network in Wales and when winter conditions are forecast, pre-salting of our Primary network is undertaken ahead of freezing temperatures.

Our duty (Highways Act 1980 S41 (1A)) is to:

‘…ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that safe passage along the highway is not endangered by snow or ice.’

The phrase ‘reasonably practicable’ is an important qualification which recognises that the duty is not absolute, Highway Authorities cannot treat an entire road network when adverse weather is forecast, and that Highway Authorities will need to adopt a balanced approach of reasonableness and practicability within the resources available.

All winter service operations on public highways within Carmarthenshire are predominantly undertaken by the County Council’s Highways and Transportation Service within the Place and Infrastructure Department. This includes working in partnership with the Welsh Government which is the Highway Authority for Trunk Roads within Carmarthenshire. We also work closely with neighbouring authorities with reciprocal cross-boundary arrangements in place on a small number of roads to ensure a consistent level of service for the travelling public.

Organisational responsibilities and operational procedures are documented in the Departments ISO 9001 Winter Service Quality Plan.

The County Council’s approach to Winter Service recognises recommendations contained in the national Code of Practice Well Managed Highway Infrastructure and the detailed guidance provided by the National Winter Service Research Group ‘A Practical Guide for Winter Service’.

One of the key risks for road users during the winter is that of ice forming on the road surface. Water will freeze to form ice at 0℃ but the presence of road salt in the solution lowers the freezing point to prevent ice forming. When temperatures fall below -7℃ the salt becomes less effective.

A key element of the Winter Service is based on the efficient spreading of salt on the road surface ahead of freezing temperatures. This is undertaken by a fleet of gritting vehicles which are strategically based across the County. Approximately 140 tonnes of salt can be spread onto the Primary Network on a single treatment. The County Council is mindful of its sustainability obligations, financial responsibilities and safety duties and aims to ensure that gritting treatments are efficient, effective and necessary in relation to forecast weather conditions.

The gritting fleet are equipped with GPS tracking devices to enable accurate monitoring of their location on the gritting route and track which roads have been treated. Gritting route navigation devices are fitted to vehicles to improve driver information and routing. Precautionary treatments are normally completed in less than 3 hours for each route and at least 1hr in advance of forecast road hazards forming.

Every endeavour is made to ensure that roads on the Primary Network are treated ahead of ice and snow being forecast. This treatment provides a de-bonding layer to minimise the adhesion of snow and ice to the carriageway surface and helps to make any necessary snow clearance more efficient. All of our gritter fleet can be fitted with snow ploughs, should snow clearance be required, and our operations will have a key focus on the strategic highway routes.

Further details can be found on the Councils webpage which will be updated at the start of each winter season.

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