7:10am Wednesday 7th January 2009
By Saiqa Chaudhari
BLACK ice forced the closure of a busy road — despite it being just yards away from a mountain of grit.
Police closed the eastbound carriageway of De Havilland Way in Horwich because of “hazardous driving conditions”, due to ice between junction six of the M61 and Chorley New Road.
De Havilland Way was closed coming off the M61, past the Reebok Stadium and into Horwich because of black ice on the road after overnight temperatures fell to as much as minus 10C.
The carriageway was closed at around 10am on Monday so gritters could put salt on the road. It meant traffic had to be diverted via the A6, causing delays for motorists.
Bolton Council, which is responsible for maintaining the road, was last night accused of not being prepared for the “big freeze”.
And critics have demanded to know why the major route had to be closed despite De Havilland Way being the home of a Highways Agency depot that houses a winter maintenance fleet.
In November, salt reaching 20 feet high was piled at the depot. The Highways Agency said it would help keep vehicles moving and motorists safe.
However, the Agency is only responsible for motorways and major trunk roads — and not De Havilland Way.
Cllr John Walsh, Bolton Council’s opposition Conservative leader, said: “Major roads like this should not be closed. It is disappointing that black ice was allowed to develop. The roads should have been gritted and regritted.
He added: “I have proposed that we share resources with the Highways Agency, whose salt it is, to grit the roads and have joint working.”
But a Bolton Council spokeswoman said the road had been gritted a number of times over the past days.
There was “already a layer of residual salt from gritting activity on several continuous dry nights” and the route was inspected on Monday evening, she said.
More gritting took place at 10.30am yesterday after police reported ice had developed on the road.
“We re-visited the route again at around 1pm and the road was open and clear of ice,” the spokeswoman said.
She added that the council had “no arrangements” to use the nearby gritting depot which belongs to the Highways Agency.
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