Snow and ice can have a huge impact on how we move around. That is why our gritters travel over 600km to treat over 325km of roads when we expect severe weather during the winter period. We also treat pavements when frost or ice is expected to last for more than 48 hours.
The winter period is between 1 October and 31 March.
With over 1,049km of roads and 1,597km of footpaths and cycleways, it is not possible for us to treat every area. We treat major routes and areas with high footfall. These major routes include important bus routes.
We can only treat the roads and footpaths detailed in our winter services policy and cannot grit roads and pavements on request.
Grit, or rock salt, works best when traffic moves over it. This process grinds the rock salt, helping it to spread and to mix with moisture. This means that it takes time to work and it is much less effective on residential streets with lower traffic volume than major roads.
The layout of many residential streets also prevents gritting vehicles, which are wider than refuge collection vehicles, travelling on them. Things like parked cars and the narrow carriageway makes it dangerous or, in many cases, impossible to manoeuvre.
Some roads in Newcastle are private and are not adopted highway. That means we are not responsible for maintaining them or treating them during severe weather. You can see which roads and footpaths we are responsible for by viewing our map of adopted highways.
The A1, A696, and A69 are maintained by National Highways.
Self-help Grit Bins
We provide self-help grit bins in key locations so you can help keep roads and pavements clear. You must not use these on private land.
We will refill these bins when we expect severe weather and cannot fill them on request.