Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd with gritter drivers Neil Norrie and Stuart Tate.
Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd has thanked everyone involved in the delivery of winter service during the current period of cold weather.
Temperatures have fallen below zero over the past week and the Department’s winter service teams have been out gritting the 7,000 km of road on the salting schedule.
Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd said:
“My Department’s winter service teams have been working tirelessly around the clock in recent days to keep the public safe and traffic moving and will be out again today with further ice and snow forecast.
“On average, 49,200 tonnes of salt is used each winter. And this season has already seen 42,580 tonnes of salt used.
"Since 1 January, our teams have carried out 2,262 route treatments across the network.
"This has required the commitment of over 320 staff and 130 gritters and in theory this means that 28% of the road network is salted, directly benefiting around 80% of road users.
"Where resources allowed, we have also carried out salting of some rural roads not on the schedule to assist pupils travelling to some of our more rural schools.
“This is not an easy job. We need to remember that these men and women leave their homes and families, often during the night, and are regularly the first to drive along untreated roads in difficult conditions to make routes safer for us to travel and I want to thank them for doing so.
“However, please remember that the service provided cannot entirely eliminate the risks – even on roads that are gritted, ice free conditions cannot be guaranteed and conditions can change very quickly.
"We must be mindful of this and adjust the way we drive, ride or cycle to ensure it is appropriate for the conditions.
"The best advice is in the Highway Code, take extra care even if roads have been salted, be prepared for road conditions changing over short distances and take care when overtaking gritters. Remember, just because you don’t see a gritter does not mean they have not been out.”
The Department salts the main through routes which carry more than 1,500 vehicles per day. In exceptional circumstances, roads with difficult topography carrying between 1,000 and 1,500 vehicles daily will also be salted. This means that 28% of the road network will be salted, directly benefiting around 80% of road users.
Around 300 staff and 130 gritters are available to salt main roads to keep traffic moving safely and freely. Twelve specialist snow blowers are also available to be deployed if required.