.M6m. Plan to Keep Winter Roads Clear
Page 11
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A PPROVAL has been given by the Minister of Transport to a £6m. programme A'1‘ aimed at improving winter maintenance of trunk roads in England and VI ales. The bulk of the money will be spent on 400 new salting/gritting vehicles; the rest will be used to expand and modernize the national reserve of rotary snow ploughs, to improve vehicle maintenance and overhaul arrangements and to train highway staff in the use of specialized equipment.
Two types of vehicle will make up the total of 400 to be used: exact figures are not yet determined but there will be about 240 Bedford 4 x 4s and about IGO Atkinson 6 x Gs. The similar bodies on both chassis are built to Ministry requirements by Atkinson's of Clitheroe Ltd. The Atkinsons are the same as machines already on order for use on motorways and have a capacity of 11-5 torus whilst the Bedfords arc 5-5-tonners which, before the fitting of the hopper bodies and spreading equipment, are extensively modified by Chassis Developments Ltd. of Luton. The chassis are treated to combat the severe corrosion which arises when handling rock salt and a most important feature of the vehicles is their ability to spread salt evenly at rates as low as 0-5 oz. per sq. yd. at road speeds of up to 30 m.p.h.
Implementation of the complete programme will be phased over a number of years— dictated largely by the delivery position of the special vehicles. But 20 13edfords are now being supplied for use on Al. the first having just been completed. and 50 more will be put into service on trunk roads during the coming winter.
"I he decision to make a considerable increase in facilities for winter maintenance of trunk roads was made after an extensive review of the current position, following experiences last. winter. In a circular sent to all highway authorities, proposals for the future are set out and
it is stressed that an improved standard is needed on many roads. The new programme will cover about 4,000 of the 6,400 miles of trunk road, the actual roads chosen falling into three categories (rnotorwa■s are already covered by existing arraneements). These are trunk roads which parallel future motorways, trunk roads which are or will be comprehensively improved (such as Al) and other trunk roads whose routes or usage mark them out for priority.
It is intended to base the Bedford 5-5-tonners every 10 miles along these routes with the Atkinson 11-5-tonners at 30-mile intervals in place of the Bedfords at these points. The establishment of a second maintenance depot in the North of England to supplement that at Hendon is being considered.
News is also given of the setting up of a Winter Maintenance Equipment Development Committee which will have as one of its tasks the examination of the possibility of designing vehicles which can be used on other work when not engaged on winter maintenance. In an appendix to the circular it is suggested that convoys of vehicles headed by a snow plough might help to alleviate the likelihood of vehicles having to be abandoned on blocked roads and, on roads particularly liable to blockage, it is said that consideration should be given to the practicability of organizing such convoys.