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192 
True grit from HA this winter
Page 12
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David Harris reports on assurances that the roads will be kept clear of snow THE HIGHWAYS AGENCY has promised there will be no repeat of January's chaos when large parts of the country ground to a halt because it had failed to grit the roads. It was responding to a damning report from the Commons Transport Select Committee, which condemned the Agency for failing to co-ordinate the work of its contractors. The report adds: "It is intolerable that the Highways Agency has no immediate financial sanction available where a contractor fails to keep the motorway and trunk roads system free of ice and open.Despite this specific criticism. the Agenc says it has no plans to introduc financial penalties into its coi tracts, nor would it be sacking ar contractors over one mistake.
Instead it has "reviewed" i operating procedures in an effort ensure that there is no repeat of ti failures that occurred on 30 and January this year.Truck drivers ai other motorists became strand+ on the MI1 in East Anglia aft barely an inch of snow render' the roads impassable because th had not been gritted, despite t cold spell being forecast.
A Highways Agency spokl woman confirmed that all contractors had been told it IA their responsibility to respond warnings of icy weather in tir and to make sure that gritti took place. -We are confidt that there will be no repeat of I year's events," she says.