HAMPSHIRE Highways teams have been out salting priority one routes every day since the arrival on Boxing Day of more seasonally cold weather.

The winter fleet hits the roads when road surface temperatures are set to drop to zero or below, spreading salt in good time to be crushed in by traffic ahead of any forecast freeze.

Rob Humby, executive member for environment and transport at Hampshire County Council, said: “Hampshire’s highways teams are all set for the cold spell forecast this week and will be carefully monitoring conditions to make sure salt is down on the roads at the right time to tackle ice and frost.

“This is a busy time of year for many people as they visit friends or family, or go shopping in the sales. I would urge everyone to take care when they’re out and remember to drive according to the weather conditions, such as reducing speed, increasing stopping distance, and avoiding harsh braking and acceleration.

“Footways can also be slippery, and I would ask people to help in their own communities by using the salt in the blue or yellow bins on small access roads and pavements.”

Highways teams continue to monitor weather conditions, road surface temperatures and wind direction constantly throughout the winter to assess when and where salt needs to be spread on the roads. The roads are salted on a priority basis, with ‘priority one’ routes carrying the majority of Hampshire’s traffic. These routes include A roads, some B roads, major bus routes, roads to hospitals and other key emergency hubs, large schools and colleges, areas of high traffic concentration, and public transport interchanges.