GRITTING crews in Somerset have had their busiest winter time so far as temperatures have plummeted.
Over the weekend 22 road crews, employed by highways agency WS Atkins, were out gritting the 7,100km of roads, using up 766 tonnes of salt.
The teams have been clearing 'priority routes', some of which have been salted several times.
However, the task has been made all the more difficult by the recent heavy rain which have left many roads very wet.
WS Atkins operations manager Nigel Tomlinson said: "This has been the first real test of this winter for our teams and they responded brilliantly.
"The temperatures were very low and the early rains made for extra difficulties but they coped with it all.
"Obviously it is not possible to salt every single road in the county but by concentrating our efforts on priority routes, mainly A and B roads, we hope to have done our bit to keep Somerset on the move."
According to county council highways services manager, Andy Ackerman, the recent programme of extra investment in road repairs across Somerset, together with gathering information from parish councils, was a factor in helping to keep roads clear.
"Unlike in other areas, we found that even after the very wet weather the residual problems from water seepage that we often encounter with slippage on to roads and with some roads refreezing due to their poor condition were minimised," he said.
"We have certainly experienced far less problems during the current cold spell than we have in previous years."
Cllr Tim Carroll, executive board member with special responsibility for transport, warned that drivers should still be taking extra care on the roads during the cold spell.