As the temperature drops leading to an increased risk of both ice and snow, Perth and Kinross Council are outlining their gritting priorities for the roads in the region.
All roads have been assessed and given a priority based on their usage and importance. There are four categories of road coverage, with Trunk Roads like the A9 falling under the responsibility of Transport Scotland and their operating companies Amey or Bear Scotland.
Category 1 Roads
Category 1 roads have been divided into two groups (1a and 1b) with the most important roads in Category 1a.
- 1a) Other strategic routes carrying large volumes of traffic and connecting main centres of population out with the Perth area
- 1b) Other strategic routes connecting larger communities and other main rural roads. Roads leading to important or sensitive locations such as hospitals or fire stations
Category 1a roads include Atholl Road in Pitlochry and The A827.
Category 1b Roads include Bonnethill Road and West Moulin Road in Pitlochry, Main Road in Ballinluig, Atholl Street in Dunkeld, The A822 from the Birnam junction westward to the junction with the C504, Dunkeld Road, Kenmore Street in Aberfeldy and Main Road in Blair Atholl.
Service provided
- In ice and snow conditions or pre-salted when ice or snow is forecast and roads are not dry.
- In severe snow conditions, Category 1b routes will be treated after Category 1a
Hours of cover
- Until 21:00 each day. In the full cover period, complete morning de-icing by 07:30 (or by 09:00 on Sundays and nationally recognised public holidays)
Category 2 Roads
Minor rural roads serving small settlements or a significant number of rural properties. Secondary distributor/local roads in settlements and other urban or rural roads with special difficulties such as steep gradients.
Category 2 Roads include Well Brae and Larchwood Road in Pitlochry, The Cross in Dunkeld, and St Mary’s Road in Birnam.
Service provided
- In ice and snow conditions or pre-salted when ice or snow is forecast and roads are not dry
- In severe snow conditions, Category 1b routes will be treated after Category 1a
Hours of cover
- 08:00 -15:00 Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays), after Category 1 roads have been gritted
Category 3 Roads
Rural roads serving no or small number of isolated properties, or local access roads in settlements within easy reach of local distributor roads
Examples of Category 3 Roads are Lower Oakfield and Port-Na-Craig Road in Pitlochry.
Service provided
- Not normally treated unless they become impassable due to snow or ice and treatment of all other categories has been completed
Category 4 Roads
Minor rural roads that serve no habitation and cannot be treated safely, and unadopted roads which are not owned by the Council and do not have a wider Community use. Category 4 roads will not be treated.
A detailed map of all gritting priorities in Perth and Kinross can be found at https://www.pkc.gov.uk/article/14926/Gritted-roads-map