Council plan for tech to beat big freeze on roads

Bradford Council could stop automatically gritting its whole A-road network whenever freezing weather is forecast.

A new report from the authority said it wanted to move away from an "all out" approach and instead use hi-tech road temperature sensors, thermal mapping and detailed weather forecasts to treat areas most at risk of ice.

The authority currently grits 819 miles (1318km) of "Priority 1" roads, covering major routes serving places such as hospitals, schools and town centres, ahead of any severe cold snap.

However, the report before the councils' executive next week said a more "targeted" approach could enable the council to "use resources more efficiently" and use up to 15% less salt.

The report, prepared for the decision-making executive, said the "revised approach to precautionary road gritting" followed the successful trial of road surface temperature sensors last winter.

It added that the changes would "reduce unnecessary salt usage and vehicle movements, support environmental objectives and maintain a safe and resilient highway network".

The authority stressed that roads would continue to be monitored and treated whenever conditions indicated there was a risk to road users.

Under the proposed system, major roads considered at risk of freezing would be gritted, while those expected to stay above freezing could be left untreated and closely monitored.

Temperatures can vary considerably across the Bradford district because of differences in altitude.

The report said Queensbury could be between two and three degrees Celsius colder than Bradford city centre and other lower-lying parts of the district.

Road-surface sensors were trialled last winter as the then Labour-run council explored a more targeted, and potentially cheaper, way of gritting local roads.

The authority's new report said it had found no evidence the trial had negatively affected road safety, although it did not say how many sensors were installed or how much of the priority network could now be left untreated on a typical night.

Officers could still send gritters across a wider area if forecasts were uncertain under the new plans.

Under the proposals, gritters would also have GPS-controlled equipment, automatically adjusting how much salt was spread on different roads.

The council said this would leave drivers free to concentrate on driving, while industry estimates suggest it could reduce salt use by between 5% and 15% a season.

Figures show the council treated its priority network 21 times during the relatively mild winter last year, using 4,827 tonnes of salt.

The service cost £1.51m against a budget of £1.59m.

The authority will calculate the latest savings from targeted gritting after the coming winter.

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