Weather update: Grit supplies are running out
HIGHWAYS officers say they have enough grit left to treat icy roads for just two days.
They have resorted to using pad white salt – a waste product of table salt – after being left with just two days ’ worth of rock salt supplies in Stoke-on-Trent.
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Thirty tonnes of pad white salt mixed with rock salt was last night used on some roads, while a further 30 tonnes was mixed with builder’s sand and used on car parks.
An unknown amount of traditional rock salt was also used on the city’s A and B roads and bus routes.
But council highways officers do not know when they will get their next supply of rock salt, as the winter weather looks set to continue.
Councillor Adrian Knapper, city council portfolio holder for regeneration and economic development, said today: “We have enough rock salt to last the next two days, with the added pad white salt being mixed in to create an extra day’s worth of supplies. The problem is a national shortage of rock salt due to the continued bad weather, and means the Government is now supplying salt to those in greatest need.
“We are doing everything we can to make sure that roads are clear and ask motorists to take extra care during the extreme weather conditions.”
Rock salt, which comes out of the ground already mixed in with grit, has been costing the council £28.60 a tonne.
It had 140 tonnes of rock salt left before last night and spread 85 tonnes on Sunday night.
The council has paid £40 a tonne for the pad white salt, a pure salt that needs to be mixed in with sand or grit.
Motoring experts today reassured motorists and pedestrians that table salt was safe to use.
A spokesman said: “Table salt is very refined and would have to be mixed with sand or rock salt to be useable.
“If done properly, it is more than feasible for it to be used on roads and car parks and will have the same effect as normal grit in melting the snow and ice.
“We would suggest motorists make sure their car is given a good clean when the bad weather is over, particularly around the wheel arches to prevent any rusting.”
In Staffordshire, the county council has just 1,000 tonnes of grit left and is concentrating on A and B roads.
It has used three times as much grit in the last few weeks compared to the same period last year.
Cabinet member for highways Councillor John Wakefield said: “This week will be challenging, but we are doing everything we can to eke out salt stocks to ensure operations are maintained.”
Cheshire County Council has used 9,000 tonnes of grit in the last six weeks – compared to 8,000 tonnes throughout last winter.
A spokesman said the council had enough supplies to deal with the “immediate” weather forecast.
8 Comments
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by Matt, Tunstall
Tuesday, February 10 2009, 11:25PM
“This is nothing but total bull, every single time a problem arrives, be it the weather, Kier or the trillion other issues that our amazing Council's get in, they always have a story to try and appease the public. We heard all last week all over the news that each and every council was due to run out of grit, then on Sunday it's announced that 600 lorry loads of salt was on it's way from Middlewich, Hurray we're all saved lol. Then it snowed through Sunday afternoon and night, and by the early hours of Monday morning the Estate where we live in Wolstanton was totally unpassable, and was never gritted before this terrible shortage, so it looked grim for us, yet at 6am a gritter appeared and proceeded to grit each and every street here. Yet upon taking my son to his School in Tunstall, myself and numerous other vehicles nearly ended up in serious trouble coming of the A50 at Goldenhill into Tunstall by the Cemetary, only to find that even though this a main through road into and out of Tunstall, it had not been gritted at all, but a small estate in Wolstanton had, where is the sense ?
It is nothing short of crazy and goes to show that each and every Council in Staffordshire is run by cowboys who can waste our money "Tax Payers Money" on abysmal eyesores such as the daft Triangular effort on the Goldenhill A50, why is it there, and why is it that we have to waste money completely obscurring the view at nearly every roundabout with bush's, tree's etc, are the Councl going to accept liabity and cover the cost of Insurance premiums if an accident occurs at one of these road junctions, now that would be funny !
Anyway, i think we had all better pray for better weather soon, or we will end up with the CIty gridlocked as it was 5 or 6 years ago when we last had really bad snow and freezing temperatures, and the gritter's once again did not do there job, even with plenty of grit.”
by David, Stoke
Tuesday, February 10 2009, 2:13PM
“Pam , salt deteriorates over a VERY LONG period of time, the Councils in fact stockpile whats left from one winter for use the following winter, so what you've heard is just an excuse for bad managment”
by tim, alsager
Tuesday, February 10 2009, 2:01PM
“the county councils are using previous years figures to predict how much rock salt they should stock pile as a means of cutting the cost of what they spend treating the roads.
there is no set pattern of how weather happens and how cold it gets .
yes the council's have gritted more of the estate roads at times but also have on other occasions ignored weather forecasts at other times. this morning being one of the later,one of the major routes for traffic and buses into the city from kidsgrove (pennyfields road) was left untreated and this caused many drivers major problems and delays. i myself was over an hour late on my school run and missed many children at their bus stops because of the delays (me being a coach driver on school runs).
we all pay road tax and council tax so if the necessary provisions are not put in place to ensure we can travel to our jobs and schools because the roads have not been gritted then who is at fault, we can't all phone in a snow day every time we get a light scattering of snow or the country would grind to a halt. if i can get to work then i will go and do my job!
what used to happen many years ago? people just got on with things, so why can't we?”
by Pam, Stone
Tuesday, February 10 2009, 1:51PM
“Apparently salt deteriorates over time so it would be useless to stockpile. I heard this on the news yesterday”
by graham, moorlands
Tuesday, February 10 2009, 12:35PM
“I am sure that if the council resorts to using pad white salt which is a waste product of table salt and this were to be much more corrosive to vehicles, being a responsible council, then they would warn us, would they not. ??”