Your Hampshire - an update on Roads and Flooding from Hampshire County Council
Ready for winter
With winter here, our Highways teams are geared up to keep you moving through all weather conditions and ready to work 24/7 to deal with emergency incidents including fallen trees, flooded roads, and icy surfaces.
Earlier this year, we accelerated our work to strengthen roads via our two-year additional investment programme that has ploughed an extra £22.5 million into repairs. As a result, we’ve put more resources into fixing road defects including potholes – and carried out almost 181,000 repairs in the 12 months to April this year, and over 80,000 repairs completed during April to September.
How you can get involved
You can help us in our work to make Hampshire’s roads stronger – by reporting any potholes you spot on our Stronger Roads Today webpage or by using the OurHants app.
READ MOREGritters at the ready
This winter, when temperatures are forecast to dip below freezing, our Highways teams and fleet of gritters are ready, day and night, to keep Hampshire’s main routes clear of ice and snow and respond to surface water flooding or fallen debris on the roads caused by heavy rainfall and high winds.
All our gritters are fitted with the technology to ensure salting we’re salting in the right place and at the right time, including:
❄️ full satellite navigation guidance
❄️ an automatic salt delivery mechanism
❄️ dedicated snow plough equipment
‘Priority one’ routes, which carry most of Hampshire’s traffic, are always treated first, and include A-roads, some B-roads, access roads to hospitals and other key emergency hubs, large schools and colleges, and major bus routes.
When icy or snowy weather is predicted to last, our ‘priority two’ routes – the remaining B roads and single access roads to villages – may also be treated.
Every year, our gritter drivers take refresher training, such as test drives and speed awareness, so they can operate safely as they salt Hampshire’s priority routes. Gritters are not permitted to drive faster than 30mph, so please be patient if you find yourself travelling behind one of our gritters this winter.
Salt bins – there for you
The County Council’s network of blue and yellow community salt bins have been refilled ready for the coming months, making salt freely available for anyone to spread on local roads and pavements – useful to ‘join up’ with the salting on main roads by our gritters.
A little salt goes a long way, you’ll only need one tablespoon to treat up to a square metre of road or pavement. If you’re able to, salting your local roads when it’s forecast to be icy can be a big help for your community, reducing the risk of incident and injury, especially for those who are less mobile.
FIND OUT MOREMaking every pound count
As road repair and maintenance costs have almost doubled in the past couple of years, the pressure on our roads budget is immense. Climate change, more traffic, and heavier vehicles are also causing deterioration of road surfaces.
The Government’s recent announcement of £500 million, to be shared across all highway authorities in England for local roads maintenance is welcome news. But this is also the sum we have calculated would be needed to bring Hampshire’s roads up to a decent standard for the long-term.
We await further details, but once this extra funding is divided between England’s local highways authorities, Hampshire’s share is likely to be significantly less than we need to keep Hampshire’s roads up to standard. While the pressures remain, so does our resolve to use the resources we do have available in the best way possible.
How we maintain Hampshire’s roads
If you’re interested in how we maintain our highways, visit our website where you can now learn more about what it takes to keep Hampshire moving in all weathers and how we’re maintaining the county’s 5,500 miles of roads. We’ve created a one-stop shop of facts and explainers about road maintenance.
Along with a short video and frequently asked questions, you'll also find information on the techniques and treatments we use, the difference between surface dressing and resurfacing for example, as well as helpful information on our work and more.
Check your flood risk
At least eight of the last 12 months have seen above average rainfall, reflecting a recurring trend as our winters have been getting wetter. Checking your flood risk is easy to do online and takes just a few minutes.
If you find your property is at greater risk, you can sign up to receive flood warnings about possible flooding from rivers, the sea or groundwater, together with advice on the practical steps you can take to be prepared.
This could include joining a local Community Flood Action Group which supports people to reduce flood risk in those areas where flooding could be the most severe, keeping a supply of sandbags, or checking your insurance cover is up to date.
For more information visit www.hants.gov.uk.
