Whatever weather conditions we may face this winter, Devon’s highway teams are prepared to keep the county moving.

With six new gritters and salt barns completely filled, it is hoped that the roads this year will not face as much extensive damage as last year due to the torrential rain and named storms.

Councillor Stuart Hughes said: “From one winter to the next you never know how bad conditions will be, so our teams have to be ready for whatever they may have to face. We’ve ensured that our depots are fully stocked with salt at the start of the season and our frontline gritters are on standby to treat our precautionary salting routes as and when needed.

“As always, we also enable communities to support themselves on routes that aren’t on our gritting network, with volunteer snow wardens across the county looking after their priority roads. There are also grit bins available in strategic locations to be used on the public highway and we’d urge communities to check if theirs need re-filling ahead of cold weather.

“Even if it ends up being relatively mild, our highways staff will undoubtedly be kept busy, particularly if we experience more intense downpours of rain which are becoming far more frequent all year round. No matter what, our teams will be doing everything they can to keep Devon moving.”

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Cabinet Member for Highway Management
Councillor Stuart Hughes, Cabinet Member for Highway Management (Devon County Council)

Last year’s prolonged wet spell led to a 31% increase in pothole repairs between January and April to 2023, and 94% more than the same period in 2022.

Despite having less icy conditions, a significant amount of time was spent cleaning gullies and clearing debris from roads.

Simon Kane, Contract Manager for Milestone Infrastructure, said: “We’ve got the largest road network in the country and as a result our teams are busy all year round, whether it’s gritting, emergency service, drain cleaning or maintaining the roads. It’s worth remembering that our gritter drivers are also the same people that during the day fix the roads, empty gullies and deal with emergency issues. In the depths of winter, the drivers take on the responsibility and risk driving large gritting vehicles, sometimes in very difficult conditions, so that’s where the credit belongs.”