Road Gritting routes
 | Emergency routes |  | Priority 1 |  | Priority 2 |  | Priority 3 |  | Priority 4 |
Gritting priorities
Roads are salted and snow cleared according to the following priorities:
Emergency routes
Major routes are treated when temperatures fall unexpectedly below those forecast.
Priority 1
All classified roads and major bus routes. These roads are pre-treated when snow or ice is forecast.
Priority 2
Major town centre car parks. Treated if snow or ice is forecast to persist for much of the day, or if shorter term conditions will be severe, such as rain turning to ice.
Priority 3
Hill routes. Only treated in prolonged severe conditions depending on resources.
Priority 4
Unclassified estate roads. Treated in conditions of severe and prolonged snow, depending on resources.
The A184 Whitemare Pool roundabout to Testo's roundabout is managed by A1 Joint Venture, (Colas/Halcrow). For more information phone 01325 389 991.
The A19 is managed by Autolink on behalf of the Highways Agency. For more information phone 01642 560 538.
We must clear the planned routes first before we can respond to any individual requests. We would appreciate it if residents can be patient as we do this.
Pavements and cycle tracks
Pavements and cycle tracks are only normally treated in the event of prolonged lying snow according to the following priorities:
- Priority 1 - steps, footbridges, ramps
- Priority 2 - shopping areas
- Priority 3 - steep footpaths, outlying areas
- Priority 4 - areas of high footfall
- Priority 5 - schools
- Priority 6 - public buildings
- Priority 7 - residential homes
Footways
Salting of footways depends upon the resources available.
Decision to grit
During the winter months we receive a detailed weather forecast every day from the Met Office's 'open road' service. Three roadside weather stations in South Tyneside measure road and air temperature, rainfall, wind speed and humidity.
In conjunction with the service from the Met Office, we also receive a specialised winter bureau service provided by Vaisala Weather Centre on a daily basis. This predicts the possibility of freezing road temperatures, snow etc, and the time those conditions may occur.
Gritting the 311km of priority 1 routes takes 2.5 hours. South Tyneside has a fleet of 4 dedicated gritting wagons and operates a permanent night shift from 1 November to 31 March.
Snow clearing
Deep snow can be cleared by ploughing.
In severe snow conditions, we clear snow throughout the night to try to keep the most important roads passable.
In extreme conditions, this will normally be confined to the busier Class A roads until they are clear or weather conditions ease. After that, we will begin to clear other roads.
Social media