As we have all seen over recent years, the region can be severely impacted during the winter – be that through rain, heavy snow or freezing temperatures. While the council is hoping to avoid excessively harsh conditions, crews will remain on-call 24/7 from now until April to deal with winter conditions.

The council has a variety of equipment and vehicles for use to keep Aberdeenshire 3,500-mile roads network and 925 miles of footway in a serviceable and safe condition

Historically the council has used between 36,000 and 45,000 tonnes of salt annually to ensure roads and footways remain safe for all users, with regular supplies coming in from Aberdeen port. The pre-season restocking of salt began this week, with more than 10,500 tonnes expected to be delivered by the end of the month.

Aberdeenshire’s primary road network receives preventative treatment with gritters and ploughs starting a morning treatment at 5.40am when required and finishing an evening treatment no later than 9pm each day. On the minor routes, gritting is undertaken if sub-zero road temperatures are forecast for 48 hours

The myAberdeenshire app can be downloaded to live-track the council gritters as they carry out treatments, and to request grit bin refills, request a new grit bin, and much more https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/my/mobile-app/

For more information on all the council winter services visit: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/roads/winter-maintenance/

To see the council’s planned gritting for each day, go to: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/roads/winter-maintenance/gritting-routes/#plannedgritting