Winter Maintenance

Highways, part of the Development and Culture Directorate, is responsible for providing the Winter Maintenance Service for the City of Birmingham. The objective of this service is:

"To deliver an efficient and cost effective service for priority highway networks, which so far as is reasonably practicable enables the safe movement of vehicular and pedestrian traffic with a minimum of delay throughout the winter period whilst limiting the environmental impacts of the service".

This service operates from the end of October through to the middle of April each year and during this period the council fleet of 35 gritters, together with associated equipment, is on standby 24 hours a day ready to treat the roads when required. If frost or ice is expected to form on roads or snow is anticipated we will carry out precautionary salting (gritting) of the priority highway network. This will involve spreading rock salt onto the carriageway which helps to prevent both icy patches and snow accumulations forming.

Footways

The footways within the core of the city centre and Sutton Coldfield also receive precautionary treatment which is carried out in some areas using a special spray, because rock salt discolours the special paving materials used. Other footways in local shopping centres are cleared of snow when icy conditions persist and resources become available.

Facts And Figures

1182km of carriageway is routinely treated by Birmingham City Council.
This network is divided into 27 gritting routes.
The Council owns 35 gritting vehicles to carry out this function.
Salt is spread at 10 grams per square metre for a precautionary treatment.
Each gritter carries 7 tonnes of rock salt.
On average, each precautionary gritting run uses 80 tonnes of rock salt.
The City's opening rock salt stock is 7000 tonnes.
It takes between 3and 4 hours to treat the entire priority network.
Ice is most likely to form at dawn.

For further information please contact:

Highways
by email highways@birmingham.gov.uk
or telephone 0121 303 6644 (Mon to Fri 8.00am-5.30pm)