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Winter chaos as council dilutes road salt mix 10/1/11
Western Isles Council has now strengthened its road grit mix after a school bus slid off an icy road It is understood.
Earlier today Hebrides News reported that a bus -
Now, an island councillor who owns the bus firm has accused the local authority of skimping on road salt.
Iain Morrison says it is excessively diluting salt supplies with sand and grit to the point it is ineffective and a false economy.
Mr Morrison is proposing a special meeting to tackle the winter weather chaos unless council chiefs devise an improved strategy to make snow covered roads safer.
He suggests the council is using a weak mix of 3:1 of grit to salt.
While the council says it is more like 2:1, it is believed that the council issued instructions to use a stronger mix of equal parts of sand and salt tonight.
The school bus, operated by Mr Morrison’s family firm Galson Motors, under a council contract, slid off the slippery road at Dell, in Ness in the north of Lewis.
The bus was negotiating a corner at a very slow speed when it softly landed in the ditch. None of the children onboard were hurt in the incident which resulted in the road being blocked for a period.
The council is looking into the incident and has asked Mr Morrison’s firm for a formal report.
Gritters went out twice this morning to treat the roads in Ness. A layer of grit spread around 6.30am was quickly washed away by rain which then froze into a layer of ice. As a result technical services bosses sanctioned a second gritting run.
But Mr Morrison warned that it was “useless” to spread excessively diluted grit.
He said: “A weak mix does not help because it does not actually melt the ice.
He points out that pure road salt only works within a small temperature range so
adding too much sand negates its de-
He suggested the grit and sand was only a few pounds cheaper per tonne than the more
effective road salt -
Mr Morrison: “I intend speaking to the council on Tuesday to see what can be done for the rest of the winter.
“I am looking to see if calling a special meeting is feasible. But something needs to be done sooner rather than later.”
Road salt supplies are running low in the Western Isles. A ship is due to dock in Lochmaddy on Tuesday with 800 tonnes. If more snow is forecast it may call in at Stornoway.
A second ship is due to discharge with 800 tonnes on Lewis this weekend.
A council spokesman pointed out: “The particularly icy conditions caused by showers
and temperature variations, necessitated re-
“Salt deliveries are scheduled to arrive in the Western Isles tomorrow and later in the week.
“Western Isles Council has continued to treat roads with a mixture of salt and grit although supplies are running low.”
The council warned that low temperatures and possibly showers are forecast for Tuesday.