Sheffield snow: Official gritting advice and what to do if your grit bin is empty

Wayne Southall, from Streets Ahead, which was again out this morning with the gritters on the city’s icy roads, has issued advice after the big freeze hit the city over the weekend, and also warned people to park in a way that allows gritters to get through.

The weekend saw residents opening up the grit bins on the city’s street corners to tackle the snow and ice on residential streets which are not picked up by the gritters.

Mr Southall said: “The gritters are 18 or 23 tones each, either two or three axle machines, so they’re the same size as a bin lorry or a fire engine, and on the front of all that we’ve got a big plough. It’s a little bit wider so please park considerately. If it’s double parked, we’ll not get down, fire engines won’t get down, Think about that please.

“When you’re out and about, whatever you go into, whether its icy or snowy, please use any of our 2,000 grit bins to help yourself and your neighbours and if they’re empty let us know as a priority.

“Make sure your car’s serviceable, maintained, and you’ve got all the basics in there – a shovel, and maybe a blanket and a hot drink.”

He also explained how the gritting system works in the city.

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He said: “Our gritting routes are split into priorities – priority one routes, which are the main roads that link cities, major towns and also onto the motorway as well as servicing hospitals and fire stations. The priority two network are the other major important roads locally that service school, bus routes, and all that together, is 60 per cent of Sheffield’s roads.

“Although we talk about grit, we actually use pure rocksalt. which lowers the freezing temperature of water. We need liquid water on the network for the salt to go into a solution and start to act as a de-icing agent. If the roads are too cold, fresh snow, if no liquid lands on that, you will see white, snow covered roads, that look like they aren’t treated.

“The salt is down there. It helps when traffic runs on that because it mixes it all up, the pressure of the tyres melts the snow. However if we’ve got heavy snow and the cars are just sat in traffic jams, our gritters aren't getting through, that snow’s falling, without getting mixed in, so please stay at home, let us do our job.

“Our own weather forecaster, that is online and gives us a forecast in the morning, the main one at midday, every single day through the winter period. Forecasters are on a phone call 24/7 and we can talk to them whenever needed, and as well as that, they refer to not only the national weather models but 10 local weather stations that we and they can see.

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