Closed
No gritting at all in snow & ice
Sent to National Highways less than a minute later. FixMyStreet ref: 8620814.
I cannot believe that the A1 does not not get gritted when there is snow and ice. Drove south at 10am - it was bad. Returned north at 2pm, assuming the road would have been gritted or cleared it hadnt. Major multiple car accident had happened on south bound lane due to cars skidding. The A1 in Northumbetland is a disgrace, far too many accidents
Updates
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Thank you for contacting National Highways.
This area of the A1 is covered by two of our winter treatment routes, with vehicles based at our Alnwick depot. Route 1 covers Alnwick to the Scottish Border north of Berwick, and Route 2 covers Seaton Burn to Alnwick.
Our records show that precautionary treatments were carried out on both routes at the following times, with each route taking around 2 hours to fully complete:
2/1/26 – 14:00 – Full route treatment 3/1/26 – 02:00 – Full route treatment 3/1/26 – 14:00 – Full route treatment 3/1/26 – 16:00 – Vehicles were deployed to ‘patrol’ the route and treat / plough as required.
All the full treatments were carried out successfully, with 20g/sqm of salt spread on the carriageway.
On Saturday 3rd January at 11:19am we were made aware of poor road conditions around Alnwick. We reviewed the treatments that had been applied to the area and confirmed the route had been treated in the early hours of that morning. Available CCTV near Berwick showed no adverse conditions in that area, noting the distance between the two. At 11:40am we contacted Northumbria Police to see if they had taken any further reports. They advised that there were a number of vehicles stuck.
At 11:48am an updated weather forecast was issued to us and the Alnwick vehicles were instructed to reload and commence further treatments, with the vehicles entering the area from 2pm, with ploughs fitted.
During snowfall, the presence of salt (or grit as it’s more commonly referred as), will not prevent snow lying on the road surface. Salt requires traffic to run over it which creates a debonding layer making it easier to plough by preventing it sticking to the surface. That said, snow ploughs don’t run along the surface of the road so sufficient snow is needed to make them effective. In this area, traffic volumes are light especially on a Saturday morning meaning the road surface will take longer to clear of snow. More information can be found on our website: https://nationalhighways.co.uk/ road-safety/ travelling-in-severe-weather/ travelling-in-snow-and-ice/ winter-driving-how-we-help-you-on-our-roads/
We do appreciate your concern and hope the above answers your query. It's worth noting reports from this site are not monitored on a 24/7 basis. Issues requiring urgent attention should be reported on 0300 123 5000 or if an emergency response is required 999.
Kind regards
National Highways
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