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As the colder winter nights draw in, Transport for Buckinghamshire’s team of dedicated gritter drivers prepare themselves for their next salting run. This year TfB is planning to salt 40% of Buckinghamshire’s road network using 25 salting lorries. These vehicles and their drivers provide 24 hour a day cover, enabling a fast response to changes in weather conditions.

Salting is normally carried out after the evening peak hour or before the morning peak hour, however no guarantee can be given that roads will always be completely clear of ice or snow. Each gritter has been fitted with a tracker, and their routes can be traced across the county. The public will now be able to get real time information on the progress of the crews on TfB’s website, including where the gritters have already been, and where they are due to go.

On average, precautionary salting routes take 2 ½ hours to complete, however responding to a late change of forecast or waiting for rain to clear before they can salt means that the roads may freeze before they are salted. It is therefore important that road users drive with the utmost care, taking into account the weather conditions and never assuming that a road has been salted.

This year the salt stocks that TfB would normally hold for an average winter has been doubled, and with the newly adopted technique of pre-wetting the salt is expected to go 30% further, meaning the stocks will last even longer.

Valerie Letheren, Cabinet Member for Transport said: "Last year’s winter weather provided a great learning curve and the experience we gained from it means we are better equipped to keep our parishes and residents informed and manage their expectations should we face another extremely cold spell.

"We would urge everyone to keep updated by using our Service Information Centre or following us on Twitter @tfbalerts. There may be unforeseen circumstances, but we ask all road users to travel only when necessary during extreme weather and bear in mind that our operatives are working long and hard to try and keep the network flowing."

Keep an eye on works and news about the roads in Amersham this winter.