Keeping Oxfordshire moving this winter
A new salt barn holding thousands of tonnes of grit is playing its part in keeping roads in Oxfordshire free of ice over the winter months.
The barn, at the Deddington highways depot, near Banbury, was built by Ryebridge on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council, and keeps road salt in the optimum conditions for spreading while reducing wastage from exposure to the elements.
It can hold up to 2,800 tonnes of road salt, enough to grit over 23,333km of roads, and the roof is fitted with solar panels, generating approximately 50kw power for the grid.
The barn is used by a new fleet of gritting vehicles, consisting of 16 26-tonne trucks, 11 18-tonne vehicles, two 7.5-tonne trucks and one 3.5-tonne ‘baby gritter’, to treat very narrow roads and park and rides.
Ryebridge managing director Sean Scully said it had been crucial to finish construction before the start of the winter season.
“The challenge was doing the construction in an operational yard. So there was lots of work out of hours and at weekends, but it’s all about planning your work, and if you know something is going to be disruptive you give lots of notice.
“Oxfordshire County Council will recover the cost of the barn relatively quickly in terms of the wasted and unusable salt, and we hope this inspires other councils to invest in similar projects.”
