Let it snow!
Whatever the weather over the next few months our winter maintenance team is prepared and will be working hard to keep roads open during adverse weather conditions.
We will be monitoring the weather 24/7 until the end of March to ensure our gritters will be out and about when needed.
Councillor John McElroy, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said:
"Our team provide a crucial service when the weather becomes colder however often they aren't seen as our gritters tend to be out during the night. We have 600 miles of road across Gateshead so prioritising routes with high levels of traffic is really important. 323 miles of priority road is gritted in freezing weather which is the equivalent of gritting Gateshead to Southampton each night.
We are proud of the support that our teams give in what can be very challenging conditions."
With steep hills, high levels of traffic and land in the west rising to almost 800 feet about sea level at its highest level we face different challenges to some of our neighbouring areas.
Priority routes fall into two main categories:
- Priority 1 - main arterial routes forming the transport infrastructure throughout Gateshead
- Priority 2 - other arterial roads and secondary routes, including bus routes
You can help us when our gritters are out. Please:
- avoid tailgating - leave a sensible distance between you and the gritter
- pass carefully - when safe to do so
- do not use a hard shoulder - unless open for use as indicated
- do not undertake - our gritters need to change lanes at junctions
- reduce your speed and adapt your driving when conditions are severe
If you need to request support during winter weather events, please visit our gritting and salt bin information.
Whatever the weather over the next few months our winter maintenance team is prepared and will be working hard to keep roads open during adverse weather conditions.
We will be monitoring the weather 24/7 until the end of March to ensure our gritters will be out and about when needed.
Councillor John McElroy, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said:
"Our team provide a crucial service when the weather becomes colder however often they aren't seen as our gritters tend to be out during the night. We have 600 miles of road across Gateshead so prioritising routes with high levels of traffic is really important. 323 miles of priority road is gritted in freezing weather which is the equivalent of gritting Gateshead to Southampton each night.
We are proud of the support that our teams give in what can be very challenging conditions."
With steep hills, high levels of traffic and land in the west rising to almost 800 feet about sea level at its highest level we face different challenges to some of our neighbouring areas.
Priority routes fall into two main categories:
- Priority 1 - main arterial routes forming the transport infrastructure throughout Gateshead
- Priority 2 - other arterial roads and secondary routes, including bus routes
You can help us when our gritters are out. Please:
- avoid tailgating - leave a sensible distance between you and the gritter
- pass carefully - when safe to do so
- do not use a hard shoulder - unless open for use as indicated
- do not undertake - our gritters need to change lanes at junctions
- reduce your speed and adapt your driving when conditions are severe
If you need to request support during winter weather events, please visit our gritting and salt bin information.
