Winter road management

View gritting routes

We grit priority roads when road temperatures drop to around 0.5°C. This includes:

  • all A and B roads
  • at least one route from each of the county’s main villages
  • where possible, at least one road within 500m of all primary and secondary schools
  • roads linking all main NHS hospitals, train and bus stations
  • additional public service and school bus routes depending on various risk factors, such as historical accident data, pupil numbers and geographical risk factors

View gritting routes

During prolonged snowfall, we fit ploughs to our gritters. We may also call upon farmers and contractors to assist with snow clearing.

If you would like to assist, apply to help with snow clearing.

When we grit

From October to April, we work with the Met Office to monitor weather conditions around the clock. Our 43 gritting crews are on-call 24/7.

We grit based on weather forecasts, road surface temperature and dampness, air temperature and humidity.

When we grit, we try to do so either before the ice has set or once the snow has settled. Be aware that high-purity white salt is not always visible on the road.

Why roads might still be icy

This can be because:

  • it takes time for the salt to take effect
  • high winds or sudden rain can take the salt off the road
  • if the road surface temperature drops below -7°C gritting is less effective
  • if the road surface temperature drops below -15°C, gritting doesn’t work at all

For updates on our gritting operations, follow @LincsCC_roads on Twitter.

The standards, policies and objectives of winter salting and maintenance of our roads and footways are available in our Winter service plan.