Gritting routes
We grit approximately 266 miles of highway with routes graded by importance.
When there is significant frost or snow our first priority is to grit major routes such as the A13 and bus routes. These routes take about 3 hours to grit.
If there is snow we also grit the secondary routes, which take another 2 hours. These are routes that are a significant risk and have high usage.
Reduced gritting routes will apply when salt stocks are very low.
Priority 1 gritting routes
Priority 1 gritting routes, 2023/24
Priority 2 gritting routes
Snow plan for footways
We clear footways and pedestrian areas by hand in order of importance. The highest priority are heavily-used footways around transport links and shopping areas, footbridges and subway approaches, and footways leading to health premises and outside of schools (when schools are open).
Distances of priority 1 gritting routes
| Distance | Route 1 | Route 2 | Route 3 | Route 4 | Route 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total distance | 62 miles (100km) |
63 miles (101km) |
45 miles (72km) |
53 miles (85km) |
58 miles (93km) |
| Actual gritting distance | 57 miles (92km) |
63 miles (101km) |
42 miles (68km) |
49 miles (79km) |
55 miles (89km) |