Winter maintenance service
How does gritting work?
Gritting stops ice from forming on roads and helps cars and trucks drive safely in cold weather. We mostly use rock salt, which makes water freeze at a lower temperature and stops frost and ice from sticking to the road. Before we start gritting, our teams look at special weather forecasts, data from five roadside weather stations, and live information from our GPS-tracked gritting trucks.
We change how much salt we use based on:
- Road surface temperature
- Moisture levels
- Traffic volumes (more traffic helps spread the salt)
- Residual salt from earlier treatments
- Forecasts for frost, snow, or freezing rain
Different weather needs different approaches. For example:
- Dry, cold nights might need one gritting session.
- Freezing rain or snow may need repeated treatments.
- Ploughing is used when the snow gets too deep.
We keep track of all our decisions on a computer and check them often to make sure they are safe, work well, and follow the national NWSRG rules.
When do we grit the roads?
We treat roads between 1 October and 30 April, whenever conditions make ice or snow likely.
Every day during this period, we assess
- Expected traffic levels
- Road surface temperatures
- Whether temperatures are falling towards 0°C
- Forecast frost, snow or freezing conditions
- Current road conditions (wet, dry or damp)
- Hills and high risk areas that are more open to the elements.
We consistently grit 844 miles of primary routes, which include A and B roads, significant bus routes, and major access routes. An additional 181 miles of Secondary routes are treated when conditions are severe or prolonged.
In the most severe conditions, we focus on our Essential Treatment Network, covering 306 miles of other important roads that aren't Primary or Secondary routes, including emergency service access, hospitals, and major towns.
We also work with our neighbours — Brighton & Hove, West Sussex, Kent, and National Highways — to make sure roads are safe everywhere.
What do we do when the weather is more severe?
We work together to handle really bad winter weather, like lots of snow or long stretches of freezing conditions. This helps us keep the roads clear and safe, no matter how tough the weather gets.
When it snows or stays icy for a long time, we:
- Focus on the Essential Treatment Network (mentioned above), keeping emergency and other important routes clear
- Open a dedicated Snow Desk to manage 24/7 operations
- Get extra help from local contractors, farmers, and community snow plough partners
- Grit the roads more often and in more places
- Share more public updates and safety tips
- Work closely with emergency services, schools, bus companies, and nearby areas.
We use a step-by-step approach:
- Standby - we watch the weather forecasts, get our teams ready, and make sure we have enough salt.
- Enhanced Response: We will grit the roads more often, including some secondary routes.
- When the weather gets really bad, we follow a special plan called the Severe Weather Protocol. This means we turn on our Snow Desk and focus on the most important roads, known as the Essential Network.
- Recovery – snow clearance, reopening routes, restocking salt, supporting communities
Operation Snowdrop
Every September, we complete a test run of all our gritting routes to make sure everything is ready before winter begins. This annual preparation is known as Operation Snowdrop. During the dry run, our gritting vehicles travel the full network so we can identify and cut back any overgrown hedges, contact residents about parked cars that may obstruct the routes, and ensure that all drivers are fully familiar with the roads they will be covering.
Operation Snowdrop helps us make sure each gritting vehicle works well, is set up correctly, and can drive in tricky spots. This exercise also helps us make sure our five depots have enough rock salt, about 10,000 tonnes. It also ensures our gritting vehicles are ready to go as soon as it gets cold or snowy.