How Gritting Works
Barnet Council’s gritting crews have been out in force in December 2009 and January 2010 as the whole country suffers from a sustained spell of freezing weather and snow.
But how does grit work? What does it do to make roads safer from snow and ice?
Firstly, although it is always referred to as gritting, the material spread on roads is actually rock salt. Most of the country’s rock salt is sourced from Cheshire although Barnet’s comes from Teesside. However, during very cold weather, grit is also sourced from elsewhere. It is similar in consistency to the rock salt used on food, but contains a type of clay called marl which gives it its brown colour.
Salt is spread on the road but it works best when it is in a solution – grit relies on car tyres passing over it to crush it into the road. The solution that is formed from this has a higher de-icing capability, stopping water from freezing on the roads until the temperature is between -6 and -8 degrees Celsius.
Below minus eight degrees, gritting does become less effective. If temperatures drop this low, the council advises drivers to only make journeys that are absolutely essential and to exercise maximum care while driving.
Email this pageLast modified by: Webmaster on 07/01/2010