Our gritting crews are ready to keep Barnsley’s 321 miles of primary gritting routes moving this winter. Our teams will be on standby around the clock until the end of April, ready to head out and grit main routes day or night.

Last year, we used 5,649 tonnes of grit salt, deployed our gritters to grit our routes 678 times and travelled 25,256 miles across Barnsley. Following a very warm summer, we may be expecting colder temperatures this winter, forecasts show the first frosts could be here by mid-November. Our salt domes are full, we have replaced our old fleet with new gritters, and we’re prepared once again for whatever weather the colder months might bring.

We’ll be monitoring our weather stations around the borough, which along with specialised daily forecasts let us know when we need to head out and grit the roads. We also monitor air and road temperatures, rainfall, road moisture, cloud cover, wind direction, and residual salt.

The hashtag #SYgrit returns this year to help people find the latest updates on road conditions and gritting across South Yorkshire on social media. Just search #SYgrit on Twitter to find the latest gritting news.    

You can also follow @BarnsleyCouncil on Facebook and Twitter for local gritting updates, winter road safety tips, and more.

Cllr James Higginbottom, Cabinet Spokesperson for Environment and Highways, said: “As the cold weather approaches, our teams are prepared to keep our roads clear from snow and ice. Last year our teams did a fantastic job of maintaining our roads, and they’re ready once again to face another challenging winter.

“It’s great to #SYgrit being used on social media once again, allowing us to work closely with local authorities across South Yorkshire to help our residents plan a safe journey.

“Please don’t forget to take care when travelling in colder weather, check that your vehicle is winter ready, and leave plenty of time for your journey in adverse weather.

For more information on gritting routes and grit bin locations, visit barnsley.gov.uk/gritting.