Gritting is defended after standstill on A12 (From Gazette)

Gritting is defended after standstill on A12

1:15pm Tuesday 22nd December 2009 in

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GRITTING operations have been defended despite snowfalls causing chaos on the roads again.

Blizzards brought traffic to a standstills with the A12 north of Colchester particularly badly affected.

More than a foot of snow fell across Colchester on Thursday night and Friday morning, leaving traffic crawling along the major roads and dangerous conditions under foot.

Police dealt with more than 300 weather-related incidents.

They included lorries jackknifing on the A12, blocking gritters and snowploughs among hundreds of other vehicles.

Many drivers slept in their vehicles until lorries were rescued and the gritters and snowploughs were able to clear the roads.

The icy conditions remained a hazard during Friday morning’s rush-hour, with slow-moving traffic slip-sliding along.

Many vehicles came off the roads, including a gritting lorry which ploughed into a ditch by the side of the B1026 Wigborough Road, near Abberton Reservoir.

Police dealt with a total of 55 road accidents across the county, mostly minor shunts as cars skidded into each other on slippery roads. No serious injuries were reported.

Many drivers gave up and left their vehicles at the roadside to continue their journey on foot.

The Highways Agency, which is responsible for maintaining the A12 and A120, and Essex County Council, which looks after all other roads, had only days before outlined its plans for dealing with wintry conditions.

They had gritting lorries working around the clock., although only a few inches of snow caused traffic chaos.

Peter O’Connor, Highways Agency spokesman, said “local difficulties” had hampered gritting on the A12. He said: “Operations were made more difficult by congestion and broken-down cars.

“HGVs were stranded or jack-knifed and we have deployed traffic officers and four specialist vehicles to assist the police in clearing remaining incidents.”

Following forecasts of the big freeze, the county council’s fleet of 65 gritting lorries made three circuits of the 1,870 miles of major roads which are treated, and went out again on Friday morning.

Scott Wilson, spokesman, said the gritting lorry which came off the road was “a cautionary tale” for all motorists. He said: “This just shows how dangerous the roads are, even for an experienced driver used to driving in winter conditions.

“We would urge people to make journeys only if they are absolutely necessary.”

Norman Hume, councillor responsible for highways, said the county had sufficient stocks of salt to ensure all major routes remained well gritted, and praised staff for working “exceptionally well in extreme conditions”.

l For information on traffic conditions call 0845 600 0110, visit www.essex.gov.uk/traffic or subscribe to updates through www.twitter.com/@Essex_Travel