THE Worcestershire Highways crews headed out for their first full run of the winter season last night (Sunday, November 23) to treat roads as sub-zero temperatures descended on the county and they will be going out again this evening (Monday, November 24).

Teams left their depots at around 6pm last night, spreading salt on around 1,500 miles worth of designated routes. Teams will follow suit tonight with road temperatures set to go as low as minus two.

This year's runs will be the most efficient ever thanks to on-board technology fitted to all vehicles that calculates spread rates based on road temperatures, ensuring highways get the correct coverage, whilst at the same time reducing potential waste; saving the taxpayer cash.

Depots across Worcestershire are fully stocked with more than 15,000 tonnes of salt and all of the grit bins around the county, totalling more than 1,200, were filled ahead of the season.

Councillor John Smith OBE, County Council Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “The first real freezing temperatures of this winter were experienced overnight, which meant our gritting teams fired up the vehicles and hit the roads. They'll also be going out again tonight.

“These will be the first of many runs over the coming months and the crews will be clocking up thousands of miles treating highways to keep us safe. It's always staggering to see just how much work they get through each season. During last winter, which was a little quieter than usual believe it or not, the gangs managed to break the 50,000 mille barrier; the equivalent of more than twice around the world.

“They'll be doing their bit again when sub-zero conditions bite but, as ever, we're urging people to take care and never to assume it's safe to travel at normal speeds when the elements pose challenges. It's just not worth the risk.”

For further information about the gritting operation, including route maps and git bin locations visit www.worcestershire.gov.uk/gritting.