The Argyll and Bute roads teams mobilised a plan to re-treat all routes for 15:00 on Mon 29th November. Vehicles were just standing down from this in some districts at around 20:00 that evening when snow showers developed.
Operations resumed in Cowal, Lomond, Lorn, Kintyre and Mid-Argyll from 20:00 to 22:00-23:00, with snow showers affecting West Cowal overnight from 29th–30th November. The A886/A815 was treated until 01:30-02:30.
All routes resumed operations at 06:00 on Tuesday 30th November.
Snow cover in Lomond required continuous treatment on main routes at first, throughout the day. Resources were therefore not able to move on to treat other minor priority sections as quickly as would have been hoped. (Editor: Does this raise queries on the Council’s wisdom is mothballing 4 snow ploughs, leaving no spare in case of breakdown or emergency need?)
In most other areas works progressed onto priority 4 routes after the initial re-treatment of those in Priorities 1-3. However in some areas of Cowal, Lomond and East Lorn these minor roads are now compacted snow and ice, making removal difficult.
The B8000 North of Largiemore in Cowal and the B840 on East Lochawe in Mid Argyll and Lorn are proving particularly difficult to treat as they are predominantly in the shade.
By contrast, South Kintyre, Islay, Mull and Lorn West are predominantly dry and frosty.
Consideration was again given to the possibility of moving some resources over to assist in Lomond and Cowal. However there are still sufficient and significant Priority 4 problems in western mainland districts to prevent this method of assistance being deployed to eastern districts.
Works in Cowal and Lomond are to continue until 18:00-19:00.
The plan for the morning (1st December 2010) is for a ‘patrol and treat Priorities 1-3 persisting hazards only’, then resuming worok on all other routes as practicable.
Footway works
These continue, mainly in Cowal and Lomond, but progress is difficult in the severe frost conditions.
Clearance operations on footways are predominantly being done by hand. Mechanical assistance is of limited effect due to the conditions.
Road Closures
The A817 Haul Road snow gates remained closed overnight, although the route had been cleared. The plan was to open this road to through traffic at daylight Tuesday 30th. However the overnight snowfall made this impractical and clearance operations continued until approximately 14:00, when it was considered suitable for traffic.
The B836 Glen Lean was opened to through traffic on the afternoon of 29th November.
Other Priority 4 treatments in these areas are affected by the hard packed effect of snow and frost.
Some roads may be ‘difficult’ or only ‘passable with care’ but none are officially closed.
Salt
An estimate of the salt used in all treatments from 12:00 on Friday 26th – 12:00 on Tuesday 30th is 1,975 tonnes. Grit and
Sand have been mixed in with these treatments, giving a total volume of approximately double this.
An estimate of the total stock remaining is 5,863 tonnes in 15 separate stores, as at mid-day, 30th November.
Shipping for salt deliveries directly to Argyll ports is in short supply. We only have one 800 tonne capacity boat load confirmed for delivery on Tuesday or Wednesday next week. An order placed for 2,000 tonnes to be delivered on 15th December still awaits confirmation of an allocated ship.
Salt stocks in Cowal and Mull were critical this morning (30th November) at less than 300 tonnes each.
400 tonnes of salt from the main supplier’s stockpile in Glasgow were released to Cowal, 150 tonnes arriving this evening with the balance tomorrow.
An operation to re-distribute 1000tonnes from our strategic store in Helensburgh has begun. Mull + 300 tonnes; Oban + 500 tonnes; Dalmally +200 tonnes - with a review of assistance to Lochgilphead after that.
This will leave 1,200-1,700tonnes in Helensburgh.
Further road deliveries from Glasgow are committed to other customers until 14th December.
Orders have been placed with the Salt supplier to have all stores replenished to full capacity between 15th and 24th December, in advance of the festive season shut-down.
Overnight temperatures: 30th November
- Air temperatures: -5 C to -13C air
- Road Surfaces -9.5C to -16.5C
How are roads prioritised?
I live on something called a “P4- follow-on” but there are seven school aged children who are collected by two buses – one of them escorted. There is a young couple with a six month old baby, two houses of pension aged people and a business at the end of the road that relies on access. Last night we had two accidents on the road, one a white van that skidded on the ice and blocked the road for two hours – the other, one of the school buses that was forced to reverse back along the road beside Loch Striven and was saved from falling into the loch by a stand of trees. The council have told us different things depending on who we talked to:
Apparently our road has never been on the list of gritted roads – this is not true – the roads were gritted all through the big freeze in December and January
Apparently they tried to grit it today but it is so impacted now that they were unable to do anything
Apparently they haven’t been to grit it yet but are coming tomorrow.
Nothing is coming down the road – no post, no fuel deliveries, no emergency vehicles –
nothing.
I had to take my children to school this morning because the school bus drivers refuse to drive down the road – backed by the parents in this. I have a landrover and slid all over the place today.
I ask again – why do we qualify as a P4 follow-on?
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