Highways boss joins team helping to make roads safe
A Black Country council's highways chief has joined a gritting crew to lend a hand during the cold snap.
Councillor Damian Corfield, cabinet member responsible for highways at Dudley Council, rolled up his sleeves to take part in a gritting run on Friday morning.
The highways boss, who is himself a qualified lorry driver and has more than 30 years’ experience on the road, helped on a run which included filter roads, cemeteries and pay and display car parks across the borough.
The small crew consisted of a 4x4 truck and a detachable spreader, which are ideal for treating smaller areas.
The run was part of a major winter plan which has seen crews working around the clock, treating more than 300 miles of the borough’s roads, in some of the most hazardous driving conditions.
Councillor Damian Corfield, cabinet member for highways and environment, said: "These conditions are not easy to drive in as I know that from personal experience with my line of work.
"I have the utmost respect for these drivers who go out in horrible conditions to treat the borough’s roads.
"While many people are tucked up in bed, they are out in freezing, hazardous conditions and I’ve seen today that the roads are still tricky so people need to be careful.
"Grit will only do so much, it won’t make snow go away, so I’d advise people to take extra care and allow more time for journeys.
"Bin collections are running as normal, but we will have to go back and collect some of the harder to reach areas and we will do that as quickly as possible.
"We’ve drafted in staff from other areas to refill grit bins and carry out other tasks to support the wider work.
"It really is all hands to the pump and I’m grateful to have been part of that today."
People can keep up to date with the council’s work during the snow and any council services affected by the weather online at dudley.gov.uk/media-centre/communications/weather-watch/
