Measures To Conserve Salt In The Highlands

15th January 2010

As a result of national shortages of road salt, The Highland Council has taken emergency measures to preserve salt stocks.

With immediate effect, low priority routes - Priority 3 and 4 routes which include most urban roads, school bus routes and rural roads and residential areas - will be treated with grit only. This follows advice given by the Scottish Government's Resilience Room. If dangerous road conditions develop on these low priority routes and salt is required to treat ice, efforts will be made to treat localised sections with road salt in the interests of public safety.

In the evenings, precautionary treatments for Priority 1 routes will be limited to situations where ice is forecast to form before midnight and existing salt levels on the roads, as determined by ice sensors, are insufficient. Drivers should therefore be aware that main routes (Priority 1 routes) may not remain ice-free between midnight and 6 am. At all times, drivers should drive at the appropriate speed for the conditions.

The Council has used 51,000 tonnes of salt since the adverse weather set in on 19 December, at a cost of in excess of £1,500,000. Salt will continue to be used on Priority 1 and 2 routes but it will be mixed with abrasive grit in order to reduce consumption of salt.

Neil Gillies, Director of Transport Environmental and Community Services, said: "In common with the rest of Scotland, the Council is using salt at an unprecedented rate to cope with the prolonged freezing conditions and heavy snow. The extremely low temperatures have seriously reduced the effectiveness of salt in causing the snow and ice to melt. The rate at which we can obtain replacement supplies of salt is not keeping pace with the rate it is being used up.

"The Scottish Government is advising all road authorities to economise with their use of salt so that we do not run out completely. This is why we have to depart from our gritting policy in this extreme situation."

These measures have been put in place under emergency powers and will remain in place until Thursday 21 January when the matter will be referred to the Transport Environmental and Community Services Committee.