Tireless work by crews over wettest winter
ESSEX Highways has wrapped up this season’s winter service after the wettest recorded winter in 130 years.
High levels of rainfall brought significant challenges, with frozen conditions and icy roads meaning additional work for crews.
Working closely with local, city, parish and town councils to overcome the winter conditions, including two major storms, this winter Essex Highways crews have:
■■Carried out gritting runs across Essex over 80 times, spreading salt to melt away ice and stop it from forming into hazards.
■■Used more than 10,000 tonnes of salt to keep roads ice-free and safe following wet conditions.
■■Gritted abouty 40 per cent of the total road network in Essex, more than 2,000 miles.
■■Deployed 55 gritting lorries, including ten new ones, along with two mini-gritters
■■Covered each of the 51 gritter routes across Essex, ensuring critical routes remained safe and accessible for all highway users.
The county’s gritters will return for the 2024/25 winter season later this year. This starts in late October when temperatures begin to cool.
In addition to its regular yearly budget, Essex Highways has been
Essex County Council said this additonal funding reinforced its commitment to delivering safer, greener, and healthier travel across the county for Essex residents.
Robbie Jamieson, winter service and area highways manager at Essex Highways, said: “Fortunately we didn’t see much snow over winter, but we saw plenty of rain.
“The heavy rainfall meant that more roads stayed wet and froze over, creating ice and other hazards like potholes that skilled crews worked tirelessly to address.
“I’d like to thank all the crews who were out there gritting our roads early in the morning when it was cold and dark so that residents could travel safely during the day.
“It’s worth remembering that our gritter drivers were also out helping pothole make-safe crews maintain and repair our network from winterrelated hazards when they weren’t gritting.
“Their commitment and hard work must be commended.”
Essex Highways is now preparing for the favourable conditions of spring and summer to focus on the re-surfacing season.
■■More information on Essex Highways’ winter service can be found at: www.essexhighways.org/ about-our-winter-service.