Up to 12,500 tonnes of salt will be stored at two new barns in County Durham ready for the winter.
Durham County Council is preparing for winter conditions by making sure that the new salt barns in Wolsingham and Peterlee are up and running in plenty of time.
The Wolsingham barn, which was completed in January and cost £500,000 to build, can hold 5,000 tonnes of salt and will supply provisions to the west of the county.
Serving the east of the county, the recently-built £750,000 Peterlee structure, which is based at the Hackworth depot, replaces the former Wellfield depot barn, which was beyond repair, and has an increased capacity of 7,500 tonnes.
Every year the council sets out its winter maintenance policy to deal with snow and ice and to make sure that salt stocks are topped up, salt bins are available across the county and a fleet of gritters is primed and ready to hit the roads.
As parts of the county are rural and sparsely populated the aim is to keep as many communities and main routes as possible open to try and help people get to work and school.
As well as the additional barns, there will also be:
• More than 42,000 tonnes of salt stored in barns ready for use.
• Thirty-seven large power gritters, 33 trailer gritters and four snow blowers.
• A total of 2,500 salt bins at various locations will be filled for people to help clear the areas around their homes.
The council treats more than 1,700km, or 45 per cent, of the county’s roads between 80 and 100 times during normal winter conditions but will also clear other minor roads if possible in severe, prolonged bad weather.
Footpaths in areas such as town centres, busy shopping centres, hospitals, health centres, doctor’s surgeries and care homes will also be treated if there has been heavy snowfall.
For further details about Durham County Council’s winter maintenance policy visit www.durham.gov.uk/winterroads and to report any problems on the roads please call 03000 26 1000.