Councils across Merseyside have confirmed their gritting situations as icy roads cause mayhem.
The ECHO has previously reported on the "chaos" on Merseyside roads due to the weather conditions. With delays to public transport, motorists were urged to take care.
This week, overnight frosts are continuing to cause some hazardous conditions across the region. The Met Office report that temperatures could hit lows of -7C in the night, with freezing fog patches forming across the region. There is also the risk of wintery showers on the forecast.
READ MORE: Asda delivery driver 'saved mum' after noticing weird smell outside home
As roads and pathways remain icy, concerns were made that roads had not been gritted in preparation or that some roads had been left out. We asked each council in Merseyside what their process is in terms of gritting, and what roads are focused on.
Liverpool
Liverpool Council's seven gritting trucks have so far made their seventh run since Friday. As well as the gritting trucks, the council has around 163 community grit bins in the city.
In a latest tweet they said: "Our seven grit trucks are back out again at 9.30pm to treat 600km of the city's main roads. This is their seventh run since Friday. Please drive carefully as sustained low temperatures means gritting will not guarantee a road will be free of ice."
An online map shows the main routes around the city and the pathways around the city centre where gritting will take place. The map shows main roads as the focus as the full list of roads and routes can be found here.
Knowsley
According to Knowsley Council's website, from November to March, the council provides a highway gritting delivery service for the 181.58 miles of the borough’s roads. six primary routes, covering almost half of the roads in Knowsley, are gritted, usually completed within three hours. These include:
- M62 motorway (Liverpool boundary to Tarbock Interchange)
- All strategic routes
- Major bus routes
- Transport Interchanges and bus stations
- Interconnecting roads within important industrial areas
- Roads leading to ambulance, fire stations and hospitals
- Roads on significant hills/inclines and known trouble spots
Schools and retailers will often clear their own pathways. The full route map can be found here.
A Knowsley Council spokesperson said: "Knowsley Council provides a 24/7 highway temperature monitoring and winter gritting service across the borough between November and March. We have been well prepared for the recent drop in temperatures and during this latest cold spell our teams have been out every day gritting our network of roads using more than 300 tonnes of salt.
"Our road gritting network – which covers almost half the roads in the borough - includes all strategic routes, major bus routes, transport Interchanges, roads in industrial areas, roads leading to ambulance, fire stations and hospitals, roads on significant hills/inclines as well as known trouble spots.
"Gritting is more effective on roads and footways where there is a relatively high volume of traffic or footfall, therefore gritting on quieter roads would only have a limited impact.
"We are committed to keeping Knowsley moving and while it is not feasible to treat all roads and footways in the borough, we prioritise those roads which are key to keeping the majority of traffic flowing and enabling residents and businesses to keep on the move."
Wirral
Wirral Council has ten gritters and spreads around 2,100 tonnes of salt in an average winter. However, with 737 miles of roads, they confirmed they "cannot afford to grit every one", and instead prioritise well-used major roads and bus routes.
Taking around three to five hours to complete, teams spread salt along ten pre-planned routes including:
- Main roads with a lot of traffic
- Roads servicing emergency facilities such as hospitals, ambulance services, fire and rescue and police services
- Public transport routes and access to stations, bus garages and depots
- Roads servicing main industrial and business centres
- Known problem areas, for example, significant hills and exposed areas
The M53 however is the responsibility of National Highways. Footways, footpaths, off-road cycleways and public car parks are also not gritted as part of the regular rounds.
However in some instances, roads cannot be gritted. For example, in the rain or after rain when temperatures drop as well as during the rush hour traffic. The full road map of gritted roads can be found here.
Sefton
Sefton's gritting teams cover over 290 miles of roads and pavements in the borough, targeting the "busiest" routes. Since 2020, gritting in Sefton has operated from the Council’s award-winning new ‘Winter Hub’ whish is located in Netherton, and has space for 3,500 tonnes of salt.
Cycleways will only be gritted where they form part of the approved carriageway and footway gritting routes but grit bins are available at key points on the highway. The full list of roads can be found here.
Cllr John Fairclough, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Locality Services, said: "Once again, we will be feeling the benefit of the Winter Hub as we undertake our widespread gritting programme to keep drivers and pedestrian across the Borough safe. However, during very cold conditions we do still advise everyone to take extra care when out and about and to remember that untreated side roads and pathways may still be icy.
"We would also encourage residents to check in on elderly or isolated neighbours to make sure they are ok and are fully prepared for any potential adverse weather conditions. We would also remind anyone worried about keeping warm and paying their heating bills that information about Sefton’s network of Warm Spaces can be found at https://seftoncvs.org.uk/warmspaces ."
St Helens
Since last Monday, gritting teams across St Helens have carried out more gritting operations than scheduled, laying out 450 tonnes of rock salt. Covering primary routes such as bus routes, emergency service areas, roads on significant hills and known trouble spots, the council could cover 40% of its 780km network.
The latest operation was carried out on Monday evening. However, once the priority network of roads is clear, action may then be taken on minor routes in the event of extreme and prolonged icy conditions. Grit bins are also available in residential areas.
St Helens Council's Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, Councillor Andy Bowden, said: "Our winter maintenance team deserve a huge amount of credit for the exceptional job they do every year, working all hours and in very challenging conditions to ensure our highways are safe for road users.
"Sadly, it is not possible to cover our entire road network - therefore we always advise residents and businesses across the borough to plan journeys accordingly, utilising the main arterial routes wherever possible."
The full route map can be found here.
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
READ NEXT:
'Gorgeous' woman, 29, found dead in Airbnb on hen do
Three schoolboys dead after falling into an icy lake in Solihull
Family forced to huddle together in same bed after heating and hot water turned off
Rhod Gilbert given stage four cancer diagnosis after finding 'lumps'
