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COLD COMFORT
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Following last year's problems Tim Maughan has been assessing the Highways Agency's
plans to keep the roads open.
Shepshed depot.a stone's throw from Junction 23 of the Ml, is one of seven bases in the Highway Agency's Area I! (the HA divides England into 14 operational areas). Every base is home to personnel and equipment charged with maintaining the existing road network, improving that network —and keeping roads clear in winter.
Area 11 manager Steve Edwards explains that only English trunk roads are the responsibility of the Highways Agency:smaller roads are looked after by local and unitary authorities while the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly maintain their own roads.
Edwards' domain spreads from Warwick in the south to Stoke-on-Trent in the north, including the Ml from Rugby to Derby. Other trunk routes in his care include parts of the M42,M6,M69.A50 and A38.That's a large area which is matched by a large budget: Edwards has a cool £75m a year at his disposal.
Extreme weather can strike at any time. although the winter freezes present the most obvious risk to life and limb."The winter period formally runs from October to April," says Edwards,-and in the intervening period we ensure that the equipment is serviced."
Area 11 has a fleet of 28 Foden gritters, each of which can be fitted with a snowplough. They weigh in at just under 24.5 tonnes. and can carry 11.5 tonnes of salt. "These gritters are for use solely in this area," says Edwards. "We have another four which are part of the national reserve and are available for critical emergencies. If there was a serious situation in Derbyshire. for example, I could release two of these vehicles."
Significantly, whatever the situation Edwards can free up only two wagons from the national reserve fleet. There must always be a pair on standby, and only the HA's Winter Service Team, which acts on a national level, has the authority to mobilise them. Area 11 has 36 ploughing blades at its disposal, each fitted with a rubber strip to avoid damage to the road surface. There are also four snow blowers, capable of blowing snow 200m, and nine agricultural tractors which are used for internal shunting and emergency snow shifting.
The Shepshed depot can store up to 5,000 tonnes of road grit and typically has 2.000 tonnes ready logo in the winter months. Optima. the HA agent at Shepshed, ensures that a constant supply of salt is maintained. liaising with the Cheshire shaft mines that supply it. Douglas Brook. winter service officer at Shepshed, remarks that the HA uses 6mm salt and shows us the difference between it and the old lOmm grade of road salt. Evidently the lOmm salt used to cause damage to vehicle windscreens.
Gritting and ploughing are only two of the HAs duties. Edwards explains: "We're responsible for a range of tasks, which include picking up litter on the side of the motorway, repairing and replacing road signs. and road lining and markings."
He arrived at his Birmingham office this June to hear the dreadful news that armoured vehicles had fallen from a tank transporter on the Ml, killing five motorists.The HA was responsible for repairing crash barriers and the road surface after the accident, but as Edwards says:"You have got to think of the bereaved at times like these."
Constant readiness
The Shepshed depot is owned by the Highways Agency, although all drivers are employed by Optima. Allen Bennett spent years as a transport consultant for fleet operators; he's now Optima's Area 11 transport manager. "Winter maintenance at the Highways Agency is significantly different from trunking around the UK," he says."Trunking is all about negotiating prices and optimising freight but with the HA it's different, and more complex, because vehicles stand for long periods of time, yet have to be in constant readiness."
There is no significant high ground in Area 11.The highest point, at M1/J22, is 220m above sea level.That's a far cry from Area 13, which covers north Lancashire and Cumbria.
Bob Baldwin is area manager in this part of the world, making him responsible for the trans-Pennine A66 which rises to a lofty 440m at Buzzard Hill:The HA operates 13 gritters in Area 13 and more are fielded by Mouchel, the road maintenance company. "All our gritters are Foden 4000s and each of them can be fitted with a plough," says Baldwin.
He has 25 years' experience of looking after the roads. "Once, in the early 1980s, we put up snow gates near Brough and Bowes," he adds."I remember driving behind a removals truck... a blower had blown snow as high as the vehicle.This really sticks in my mind." Roads are not closed for fun and drivers ignore 'road closed' signs at their peril. "A number of years ago a motorist died in a car after his vehicle got stuck in the snow on the A66," Baldwin remarks."If you're going over this road in winter you have to be prepared." He advises all drivers using these exposed routes in winter to pack extra warm clothing.
The decision to close a trunk road ultimately rests with the police.Thcre is nothing the authorities can do to stop a blizzard blocking a road although. with relatively light snow fall gritting can prevent a road becoming a skating rink.
-Salt should be used if the temperature is likely to drop below 1°C; we use 20 grams of salt per metre of road." says Baldwin.
The Meteorological Office provides the HA with weather data,but the agency also has its own equipment which can alert its personnel to potential problems.There are 15 unmanned HA weather stations in Area 13 as well as thermal imaging systems to warn that it's time to deploy the gritters.That's the theory, at least. Back in January, thousands of vehicles became stranded in snow on the Mll which had not been gritted in time, but salt cannot be strewn across a road at random.
Baldwin's area is a long way from the M11, but he stresses that the HA has to he sensible about how it spreads its potentially life-saving salt: "At the end of the day salt is a pollutant. It can pose a danger to plants and water courses. and it can kill fish.
Edwards sums up the great salt debate:" We have to make the best use of our resourcesif there is sufficient salt on the road then we will not grit. It's important that we look after the environment,but safety is our top priority."