Swindon gritting team ready

The Swindon Borough Council team responsible for road gritting is preparing for another Winter.

When the temperatures drop, there are around 2,000 tonnes of salt ready to treat more than 200 miles of roads across the borough.

These include major A and B roads, access roads to most villages, main roads to hospitals and frequently serviced bus routes.

A spokesperson said in a message to the public: "It’s also important that you make sure you’re prepared too, whether that’s checking the location of your nearest salt box (to salt your own residential road) or making sure that you keep yourself and others warm during the cold nights. 

"There are 550 miles of roads in Swindon. We have identified around 210 miles of major routes that most of the borough's residents and businesses use frequently. We grit these routes when the road surface temperature is likely to freeze.

"We schedule gritting based on reports from our remote weather forecast stations. We receive a specialist five-day forecast and two daily forecasts."

Gritting routes are reviewed every year, and the spokesperson said: "We review these routes every year. Areas that do not come under gritting routes are unlikely to receive treatment in freezing conditions. 

"However, you may use grit bins to treat local roads and pavements. The M4 and A419 are managed by National Highways (formerly Highways England)."

The council provides salt boxes, sometimes called grit bins, grit boxes or salt bins, at over 500 locations in the borough. 

These contain salt which residents can use to make public roads and pavements safer, and they can find their nearest at https://maps.swindon.gov.uk/SBCatMyCouncil.aspx?x=415559&y=185112&z=75000&tab=maps&layers=gritbins