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| Tackling sticky summer roads |
The heat is on for highways "gritting" crews
This current heatwave can cause a sticky situation for Staffordshire's network of 3,500 miles of roads and the County Council's Highways teams are ready to take action with gritters on standby!
Staffordshire Highway's fleet of over 50 gritters, who are more used to battling through the ice and snow in the winter, are loading up with granite rock dust ready to tackle areas where tar may have started to melt. One gritter's already been out and about in villages near Stafford this afternoon.
And the teams'll be continuing to monitor the roads over the coming days with temperatures tipped to stay high.
While the hot weather is a problem across the UK, the County Council is particularly hot on the issue of keeping Staffordshire's highways network on the move. The team estimates that by the end of this latest hot snap they will have spread approximately 100 tonnes of the special granite dust mix.
The mixture protects the road from further damage by sealing the surface keeping it dry and stable. Slippery and sticky surfaces not only create a mess on feet and tyres, but can pose a slippery threat to road safety. Hot sticky spots can degrade and cost the taxpayer more to maintain in the future if action isn't taken quickly.
And with climate change kicking in across the UK its not just the ice caps melting that are going to cause a problem in years to come.
Staffordshire Highway's very own research laboratory is busy looking at new technologies and materials that will help the county adapt to the changing demands of the future.
Staffordshire's cabinet member for highways Councillor John Wakefield said: "We have always put our Staffordshire Highways gritting teams on rock salt action stations during hot weather, but with Climate Change promising more extremes in the future the teams are gearing up for new demands.
"We are investigating new materials, new technologies and new ways of working. We are already planning ahead to keep Staffordshire on the move while ensuring we still deliver a cost effective service for the people of Staffordshire.
"Heat is only one aspect of the extremes our teams must deal with. The team are out in the teeth of the winter storms, tackling ice and snow, floods, fallen trees and collapsed banks.
"We are totally dedicated to keeping Staffordshire's lifeblood highway network open and safe today, 365 days a year, and looking ahead to a more complex and demanding future," he said.
Page Last Modified:
30/01/2007 16:03:35
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