The Highways Agency is to further reduce its salt usage as a measure to conserve salt stocks and help manage supplies in order to help keep the country running during the continuing winter weather period.
The Highways Agency is to further reduce its salt usage as a measure to conserve salt stocks and help manage supplies in order to help keep the country running during the continuing winter weather period. This reduction is in addition to a 25 per cent reduction in salt usage which came into effect last week.The prolonged period of wintery weather continues to put pressure on salt stocks. Therefore we are taking a number of measures to reduce salt usage including a reduction in our treatment rates when ploughing snow, and not directly treating motorway hard shoulders.
Derek Turner, Network Operations Director at the Highways Agency, said: "We are now experiencing the most prolonged spell of severe weather since December 1981, more prolonged than last February, which was the worst winter in 18 years. We will be reducing our salt usage further, following a wholesale revision of our detailed treatment regime. This includes reducing treatment rates when ploughing snow by 50 per cent, along with measures previously announced, including not directly treating the hard shoulder.
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