Surrey County Council reveals technology in effort to fight ice and snow this winter (From Redhill And Reigate Life)

Surrey County Council reveals technology in effort to fight ice and snow this winter

2:49pm Monday 24th September 2012 in Local News

More than 50 farmers, a quad bike and an all-terrain vehicle will form part of Surrey's fight against ice and snow this winter.

Surrey County Council has revealed the technology which will be at the forefront of the effort to keep the county's roads free and moving in the face of any arctic blast.

Gritters equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) trackers, thermal mapping of salting routes and smart grit bins will also be key to the council's highways plans.

The use of GPS will allow the council to monitor the exact location of its fleet of 39 gritting lorries, featuring 16 new vehicles, while providing up-to-date information on which roads have been gritted.

The gritters will be ready to take action 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They will be supported by a quad bike, an all-terrain vehicle and an army of 51 farmers equipped with spreaders and ploughs.

Thermal maps of all Surrey’s salting routes will show which roads are more at risk of icing up due to their topography, traffic use and construction materials. The decision to treat roads will be based on this, as well as Surrey-specific weather forecasts and ice prediction systems using information from roadside weather stations.

Surrey County Council’s cabinet are due to consider the winter plans tomorrow (Tuesday, September 25).

At the meeting, councillors will discuss a recommendation to fit all the county council’s 1,741 grit bins with barcodes which, through a computer system, will reveal exactly when each bin was last filled, providing more accurate information on when they will need topping up.

John Furey, Surrey County Council’s cabinet member for transport and environment, said: “We’ll be combining the use of technology with a lot of good old fashioned hard work to help keep Surrey moving during winter weather.”

Coun Furey said: “But the truth is we can’t do everything, which is why we’ll be working with borough and district councils, as well as residents, to minimise the impact of ice and snow.”

Salt deliveries over the coming weeks will take Surrey’s stocks to 16,000 tons, which will be stored at depots across the county. They will be replenished regularly throughout the winter through a deal with the Salt Union.