£30k winter grit trial - this week
A Staffordshire road is being closed for long periods over the next two weeks – to test the effectiveness of winter grit.
The £30,000 trial follows the region having its hottest weekend of the year so far. Officials say tests on the A460 Lodge Lane, Cheslyn Hay, may help save thousands of lives when the frost and snow return.
It will close at off-peak times as Staffordshire Highways does tests.
The road is one of the main routes between the village and Wolverhampton.
Tests are weather dependent and wet conditions could disrupt trials. Officials said April was the most suitable time for the work.
Gritters have not yet been taken off roads for summer maintenance but the risk of them being needed for a real operation has passed.
Each salting operation in Staffordshire costs £30,000, equating to about £2.5 million every winter.
Councillor John Wakefield, county council cabinet member for transport and the environment, said: "We are one of the most diverse highways operations in the UK with a wide variety of landscapes and micro-climates to deal with.
Trials include a variety of spreading techniques, salt types and some agricultural by-products – all aimed at improving performance.
Staffordshire highways teamed up with Lincolnshire colleagues five years ago to look at operations. Work caught the attention of national experts and was worked into the National Salt Spreading Research Group (NSSRG).
Lodge Lane, between the A5 Watling Street and Saredon Road, was to close 1-4pm today and 8 tonight to 5.30am tomorrow for salt spreading, testing and traffic counts. It will also close tomorrow 10am-3.30pm and again 8pm-3.30am the following day.
On Wednesday closures are 8pm-5.30am the next day. The second week has the same schedule subject to weather. Traffic diverts on the A4601 Wolverhampton Road and A5 Watling Street.
