Council workers grit their teeth and face the cold (From Harrow Times)

Gritters deployed to thaw Harrow's roads

12:52pm Wednesday 7th January 2009 in News By Tristan Kirk

MORE than 200 tonnes of salt has been spread on Harrow's roads in the last ten days to try to combat the current freezing conditions.

Harrow Council has been deploying its fleet of six gritting lorries to spread the salt, with almost 3,000km covered in the last week and a half.

The lorry usually go out at 5am and again at 8pm when temperatures threaten to drop below zero, but they went out at midday yesterday as the cold snap continued.

The team of council workers receive regular weather updates from the Met Office in a bid to know where and when they will need to go out gritting again.

The cold weather has also been blamed for six water mains bursting in the borough this week, and gritting teams have had to deal with this extra challenge.

Councillor Susan Hall, in charge of environmental services, praised the work being done on the roads by the gritters.

She said: “Our gritting staff have worked incredibly hard in keeping the roads clear.

“Keeping traffic moving in Harrow is a main priority at rush hour, and our highways team are operating round the clock to minimise disruption.”