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Gritting and Snow Clearing

snowplough clearing roads

Winter Maintenance consists of spreading salt on roads and footways to prevent the formation of ice (gritting), and ploughing snow to clear roads following heavy snowfalls.

In severe weather conditions, Grampian Police are responsible for determining road closures. Please contact Grampian Police Weather Line: 0870 444 5444 for guidance on road closures and travelling conditions

During the winter months:

  • We monitor weather conditions on a 24 hour basis
  • We have a series of ice detection sites throughout the road network
  • Specialist forecasters provide detailed forecasts of weather and likely road conditions

When ice formation or snow is predicted, our gritter crews are called out to carry out treatment:

  • Morning gritting usually begins at 5:30am and ends at around 8:00am
  • Evening gritting start times vary, but we usually aim to end no later than 10:00pm

Which roads are gritted?

We have produced a series of routes that are first to be treated. These include A class roads and other busy roads linking communities. Gritting and Snow Clearing on all other roads can only commence once these primary routes have been treated.

Unfortunately, due to the reactive nature of the weather we are unable to give a clear indication as to when a road will be cleared

We have 32 frontline gritter's throughout Aberdeenshire, with back-up vehicles available when necessary.

Grit bins are also provided at locations throughout Aberdeenshire, members of the public may use the salt from these bins to treat roads and footpaths. If you wish to request the provision of a grit bin, please Contact Us.

Trunk Roads (A90 and A96) are maintained by BEAR (Scotland).

Limitations:

Whilst we endeavor to provide the highest level of service, due to the potential extreme weather conditions we may not be able to:

  • Keep every road in Aberdeenshire free from ice and snow at all times, although we do try to make this possible
  • Stop ice from forming - Salt requires time and vehicle activity to become an efficient de-icer. Sometimes at very low temperatures salt is not effective
  • Prevent snow from lying. Despite pre-gritting, during periods of heavy snowfall the roads can become covered with snow even when snow ploughing is taking place
  • Clear roads or footpaths that are obstructed by parked cars or wheeled refuse bins. Snowploughs and footpath gritter's have limited manoeuvrability. This is often a problem in built-up areas

To ensure your safety and that of other road users, please follow our Safe Driving Tips