Praise as staff show true grit
Date Published : 14 October 2009
Dedicated workers spread more than 3,000 tonnes of grit on Walsall roads in the hardest winter for 30 years.
Walsall Council’s fleet of gritters were mobilised 74 times in the six months from October last year.
Plans are now being drawn-up to help combat icy roads this winter to help keep traffic moving.
Councillor Tom Ansell, Walsall Council cabinet member for transport, paid tribute to the team and said he was looking forward to working with Tarmac this year to develop the service.
He said: Our roads are vitally important to us. It’s only when there is a problem on the M6 and the problems spill over that we really see how much we rely on them.
When people are safely tucked up in bed we have people who are prepared to go out and spread grit to help keep roads clear.
They are the people we often just don’t see and their hard work is always appreciated.”
With their new partners, Tarmac, Walsall Council is now preparing for the winter season ahead.
A fleet of 11 gritting wagons are in place backed up with eight JCBs which can be adapted to carry snow ploughs.
Walsall is divided up into 16 key routes which can be covered in four hours.
There are eight priority routes which includes a mix of key roads.
The second priority are routes which include some bus routes, industrial estate roads and key commuter routes.
During snowfall staff can be used to clear pavements and footpaths in key pedestrian precincts..
Staff swing into action when they are alerted by an early warning weather monitoring system to which councils across the West Midlands subscribe.
The system, which uses state of the art technology, predicts weather patterns and is updated around the clock.
