Streets

As the highway authority, Medway Council has to take reasonable steps to keep roads clear of ice and snow. All of the primary routes in Medway are salted, apart from the motorway (which is the responsibility of the Highways Agency) to help prevent ice from forming.

Preparations for winter weather.

From mid-October to mid-April the council's contractor is on standby to salt the primary routes in Medway whenever ice, frost or snow is expected. Throughout this winter period a rota of council staff act as Duty Officers. Their job is to look at the weather forecasts and other data to decide whether salting action is required. They are on call 24 hours a day so that they can react quickly to changing weather conditions.

When the main roads need to be salted.

The council obtains forecasts from the Meteorological Office, which are specifically compiled for Kent’s roads. These are received daily and show when road surfaces are likely to fall below freezing during the following 24 hours. The aim is to salt the primary routes before ice, frost or snow forms. This is planned well in advance, but sometimes it is necessary to react under emergency conditions to deal with unpredictable weather. The current details of road conditions can be found at the road weather forecast.

Roads that are salted in Medway;

• all A and B class roads;
• regular service bus routes;
• other busy routes; and
• danger spots.

If severe icing is expected or snow has fallen, other roads beyond the main routes are salted on a priority basis. The Head of Highways decides which other roads should be salted. If you would like to know if your road is included, please use the contact information at the foot of this page.

How the roads are salted.

The council's contractor supplies all equipment and labour, using eight winter service vehicles to complete a salting run covering the primary routes. It takes a maximum of two hours to salt all of the primary routes. Under emergency conditions, the vehicles can be mobilised within one hour.

Rock salt is used, which has been crushed down to a 6mm size. This is dissolved by moisture on the road surface and lowers the freezing point. The action of traffic helps this process to take place. However, in certain circumstances, salting will not prevent ice or frost forming. This is usually when roads are very wet and the salt becomes diluted. The amount of salt put down and the frequency of salting can be increased but even this may not prevent icy patches.

Salt bins.

Salt is provided in salt bins at potentially hazardous places to help all road users, including pedestrians. The public can use it to treat ice and snow on small areas of the road or footway. Salt from the bins is not for use on private drives or paths.

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