Severe weather update

ESSEX County Council is urging residents to continue to travel carefully today (January 15) as icy conditions continue.

The Essex Highways fleet of 60 winter gritting lorries will be treating roads across the county again from midday today, and further runs will take place as required.

Gritters were out across the county four times on Monday, and again from 3am this morning, treating roads ahead of the morning peak.

Staff are on call 24 hours a day, and the county’s salt supplies remain at a healthy level.

Residents can keep up to speed with the Essex Highways gritting lorries online, thanks to a new live tracking system available at essex.gov.uk/highways.

Each gritting lorry has been fitted with a GPS tracker, which allows their movements to be tracked in real-time, allowing residents to track the gritting lorries as they go along their specified routes.

Residents can also receive the latest gritting updates by following @Essex_Travel on Twitter.

Essex Highways is required to focus resources on keeping major roads clear, so it operates a specified salting network. This includes all A and B roads, access routes for emergency services, rural link roads and major public transport routes. To check which routes will be treated, visit essex.gov.uk/highways.

The website also features tips and advice on winter driving and how to clear snow and ice safely.