Here's the latest information supplied by Medway Council about how they're handling the snow across the area (9.37am, 12/03/2013):
Medway’s Council’s eight gritters have been out through the night and will continue treating roads throughout today.
The teams continuously retreated all of Medway’s primary and secondary roads - which are more than 335 miles long - throughout the early hours and this morning.
But high, blustery north easterly winds, below zero temperatures, which have frozen road surfaces, and continuous snow overnight and this morning have made it a difficult, with new snow continuously settling on top of grit and ice.
Grit needs to be worked into the snow and ice by vehicles driving over it to take effect, so this has made the gritting teams work extremely difficult.
However, main roads across Medway are now passable with care, but the council would advise residents to only make essential trips due to the conditions - as North Kent is one of the two worst hit places in the country.
Crews have also been out treating the third tier road network this morning.
Snow ploughs were deployed overnight on the B2000, Cooling Road, A228 Grain Road and Ratcliffe Highway.
These are used to move considerable amounts of drifting snow that needs to be shifted due to its depth, but ploughs cannot be used to move low levels of snow on the road surface.
This needs to be treated by salt and grit, which when worked in by vehicles driving over it makes the roads less slippery and therefore passable.
Contractors are also out salting town centres by hand, but this does take time so the council would ask residents to bear with us as this is completed.
For details on which roads are treated on Medway’s road network please
visit. Priority one car parks are also being treated and you can find details of them
here. Residents are also urged to use salt bins and details of your nearest one can be found
here.
