Gritting boss calls for Lichfield and Burntwood drivers to be patient

Drivers in Lichfield and Burntwood are being urged to remain patient as gritting teams continue to battle the winter weather.

Staffordshire’s highways crews are treating 43 per cent of the region’s roads as well as hand gritting priority hotspots including schools, town centres and around GP surgeries.

And County Councillor Mike Maryon is calling on residents and motorists to bear with the highways team while this intensive operation is carried out. He added:

“Our incredibly dedicated team is pulling out all the stops to keep Staffordshire’s roads as clear as possible in these extremely severe weather conditions.   A total of 120 people are on call around the clock and have been treating the highways twice a day in order to keep the county’s transport network on the move.

“Due to this intense challenge, the teams have been unable to refill used grit bins as we need to keep the main routes in the county moving. I would urge people to be patient until this can be done. It is definitely a priority and we will be topping the bins up with salt as soon as we can but clearing the roads is of paramount importance to us so that the commerce of the county can continue.”

Councillor Maryon also asked people to remember that the salt in the grit bins is for community use rather than on privately owned property and that only very small amounts – equivalent to a bag of sugar – are needed to do an area the length and width of three cars.

As with last year’s bad winter, members of the community are being asked to help vulnerable and elderly people by spreading salt on footpaths and residential roads or go shopping for them.

For more information on the gritting situation visit Staffordshire County Council’s website.