Gloucestershire fixes roads, ‘breaks records’

The leader of Gloucestershire County Council has thanked its highways teams for their dedication over the winter after its gritter drivers travelled the equivalent of more than twice around the equator.

The highways authority said that since October it has been busy with winter operations, with the season beginning with unprecedented levels of rainfall, followed by icy conditions during the winter and hundreds of trees blown over by Storms Bert and Darragh.

It added that its teams are currently dealing with critical road repairs due to the impact of the winter and that it has been testing methods to improve the durability of repairs.

Find and Fix teams have been deployed to carry out proactive repairs and fix smaller potholes before they develop into safety issues.

The council said it is on track to carry out a ‘record-breaking’ 90,000 minor road repairs during this financial year and 'pushing on with an extensive resurfacing programme'.

Council leader Stephen Davies (pictured) said: ‘We’ve resurfaced more than 100 miles of the county’s roads and our resurfacing programme accelerates through the spring.

'Highways teams work around the clock to grit the roads, clear drains, make critical repairs following the winter weather and create better journeys for everyone in Gloucestershire, and I would like to thank them for their dedication.’

A round-up of Gloucestershire’s season so far, in numbers:

• 197 journeys by gritting vehicles on routes covering key public transport routes and access to emergency service stations
• 106,705km driven by gritting vehicles across the county – ‘the equivalent of more than twice around the Earth’s equator’
• 5,340 salt bins checked and topped up where necessary
• 10,950 tonnes of salt used for gritting – ‘enough to fill more than 100 million kitchen table salt shakers’
• 57 deliveries of salt to council highways depots.