NORTH Yorkshire County Council’s highways teams are getting ready to face the challenges of winter on the county’s 9,000 kilometres (5,600 miles) of roads.

Between October and April, the council works with contractor Ringway to keep roads moving during periods of extreme weather. It uses 86 gritters, 111 farming contractors and a number of road and footway snowblowers.

The annual budget for winter maintenance is £6 million and 54 per cent of the roads are gritted on a priority basis. The council has 55,000 tonnes of salt stocks and treated 7,083 routes last year. In addition, there are 8,000 grit heaps and bins.

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, the executive member for highways, said: “Dealing with severe winter conditions on such a large network is a complex and expensive operation. But it is a top priority to keep the county on the move and we are well prepared.”

Further details of the council’s gritting operations can be found on its website, https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/road-gritting-salt-heaps-and-bins

When gritting operations take place, updates will be posted on the council’s Twitter account. Follow @northyorkscc or #nygrit