With both the Met Office and our own Weather Forecast Consultants predicting no end in sight to the unseasonably cold weather, Denbighshire’s highways staff are working hard to try and reduce the effects of the cold spell. Further snow is likely at times later in the week.
Throughout the next few days temperatures in many places are likely to remain below freezing and, with the intensely cold weather we are currently experiencing, motorists are reminded to take extra care. They should also remember that at these extreme temperatures salt is known to be less effective and therefore the road surface may be more slippery than anticipated.
Nevertheless, crews are working on an almost continuous shift basis keeping the main routes gritted. These routes can be seen on the Council’s website and we will also endeavour to use this site to keep the public updated should there be any significant events or actions to report.
In terms of salt stocks and the likely impact of this weather on them then we currently have a total of just over 6000 tonnes stored in our three depots which, for normal salting operations should be sufficient for about fifty days however in snow conditions we can easily use 500 tonnes per day so this is a situation which needs to be closely monitored. We also have another 1500 tonnes of salt on order which we will call up when the need arises.
Denbighshire Council are fully aware that conditions in the more rural parts of the County are already difficult and have deployed staff to try and alleviate these as much as possible and also have crews treating footways in some of the urban areas where particular problems are being experienced. They are also working with Social Service and Animal Welfare officers to react to specific needs in these areas.
