Roads Minister visits gritting salt supplier

Roads Minister Robert Goodwill visited one of England’s largest suppliers of gritting salt as work continues to ensure the transport system is ready for any severe weather.

The Minister viewed the operations at Boulby Mine on the North Yorkshire Moors on Monday (24 November 2014) and spoke to operators Cleveland Potash about how they supply highway authorities with salt for the cold weather.

Mr Goodwill said: “Suppliers like Boulby Mine are crucial for maintaining our salt stocks at a healthy level and keeping Britain moving in the event of extreme weather. There are bigger stockpiles for gritting roads than ever before. Around 1.7 million tonnes of salt are available across England this winter to ensure we are prepared.”

The visit forms part of the Department for Transport’s work on severe weather resilience across road, rail and air. The government commissioned an independent review of transport resilience following the severe weather last winter and will publish its response shortly.

UK airports and airlines have made significant investments to improve their resilience to severe weather, while Network Rail has increased flood defences, installed pumps at flood-prone locations and inspected landslip risk areas. Some 4,000 rail points have been fitted with covers to prevent damage from snow and ice.