WITH freezing temperatures and snow predicted to hit Bury this weekend, many residents will be anxious about the state of the borough’s roads.

Christmas shopping season is well underway, meaning that Bury Council’s gritting team have a huge responsibility in keeping the town moving at one of the busiest times of the year.

Based in Bradley Fold Trading Estate, the team consists of 16 qualified drivers and four duty officers, who operate a fleet of five gritting wagons, with four in regular use and one on standby.

Decisions on whether to grit or not are made by the duty officers, based on forecasts provided by the Met Office.

But it is not snowfall or chilly air temperatures alone which prompt action from the gritting team. Instead, predictions of road surface temperatures reaching freezing point is the cue.

And even then it’s not that clear cut, according to the council’s head of waste management, Glenn Stuart.

He said: “It’s all about watching the weather and anticipating if and when the road surface temperatures will drop below freezing.

“It depends on a number of factors such as, is there a lot of surface water and more potential for ice? If it has been very dry then there’s much less of a risk so you still go out and grit but you adjust your spread rate and only go out once.

“The forecast was very uncertain on Thursday night regarding whether it would snow or not so you air on the side of caution because no one is going to thank you for the town becoming gridlocked because we’ve been caught out.”

So how do they decide which roads to grit?

“We prioritise bus routes and the main arteries of the town. We’ve got to keep the traffic moving and that is our priority,” Mr Stuart added.

“If we’re hit with a huge snowfall then it can be impossible to keep them all open, so we contract our services to keep the main routes such as the A58 and A56 open.

In addition, 324 salt bins are located in known trouble spots across the borough, including sharp bends and hilly areas.

In preparation for the winter chill, Bury Council has access to 2,500 tonnes of grit, which is all stored in a depot shared with Bolton Council.

Each of the four gritters are sent out to a different area of the borough, with a full grit using between 20 and 25 tonnes of salt and taking around five hours to complete.

During snowfall, the team have to make the same trip all over again.

As temperatures dipped below zero on Thursday night and into the early hours of Friday, the team were called out three times.

And with further snow forecast for Saturday and Sunday, duty officer Carl Nieland says he is expecting a busy weekend.

“We’ll have a team of gritters out on Saturday afternoon in preparation for Sunday,” he said.

“What you find, though, is that when there’s a lot of traffic, it keeps road temperatures warm so you don’t necessarily grit as soon as it snows.

The gritters are also fitted with snowploughs, which are seldom required, but may have to be used on Sunday if the forecasts are anything to by.

Mr Nieland added: “Snow is a big challenge, but freezing rain is the most difficult because the salt just washes away.

“It’s about trying to pick the right time to go, and looking for breaks in the clouds.”

The team were called into action on 58 occasions last winter. This time around, they have already been out 15 times, and Mr Nieland estimates the eventual figure may end up at around 80.

Town hall bosses have allocated £260,000 for gritting this winter, but say they are willing to spend more if necessary.

Bury Council's cabinet member for the environment, Cllr Alan Quinn, said: “These are the people keeping Bury moving to get them into work during the winter months. They are doing a great job.

“Residents need to be mindful that we can only treat the roads on our gritting routes – we cannot grit roads on request as our efforts must be concentrated on keeping the main roads clear.

“We also don’t have any extra salt bins and the salt we provide in them is not for private use. For private driveways, residents should purchase their own salt.”

More information on the council's gritting service, including a list of routes, can be found at www.bury.gov.uk/gritting.