Although Wokingham borough has been deluged with snow over the past 24 hours, most of the main road network has been kept open, thanks to the council’s team of gritters working round the clock.
Temperatures have been just above freezing for most of today, but snow has continued to fall – most of it wasn’t predicted.
There are five gritters in use by the council and, if snowfalls are really heavy, they can be fitted with snow ploughs.
The gritting team focus first on some of the busiest roads in the borough, mainly those used by buses, then head on to the secondary ones. While many residential roads are never gritted an effort is made to clear footpaths in town centres and by schools.
And although no more snow is forecast just yet, the highways team will be monitoring the situation.
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, executive member for highways and transport, said: “In the last 36 hours, 153 tonnes of salt has been spread across our network and approximately 80 man hours spent making the network safe.
“We follow a carefully prepare plan – available on our website – that prioritises roads for gritting. The most commonly used roads (including most bus routes) are gritted first, followed by secondary routes when needed. We always try to clear town centre footpaths and outside of schools where possible.
“Although the weather looks set to improve over the weekend, we’ll continue to monitor the situation and ensure our roads are gritted if, and when, required.
“I would like to say a big thank you to the council teams who, with our contractors Balfour Beatty, have been out in the cold and snow, gritting and clearing paths and roads, helping to keep the borough moving.”
