Winter Road Reports

Every morning over the winter months, we'll send an email providing a general overview of the road conditions, as provided by our crews who are out monitoring the roads from the wee small hours. 

• An entertaining (we hope) email will be sent to subscribers between 6.30am-7.00am every day over the winter months. This will provide general local road conditions (including State Highways).

• That road conditions can change rapidly. We can't list every patch of ice, nor can our crews be everywhere at once. Our advice is to always carry chains, slow down, and drive to the conditions. We will always do our best to give you the most up-to-date conditions for key commuter roads, but we can’t drive every road in the district before 7.00am, and we can’t inspect every single bridge deck or shady spot. Remember, if it’s snowing, this slows us down too and our Winter Road Reports should never replace common sense.

• Carry chains all winter and know when and how to fit them. Especially if you're driving over the Crown Range Road - you will need them.  

• We'll post the morning report on our Facebook and Twitter page. We'll also post updates during the day when conditions change. 

You can also sign up to join our community text alert database.  This means we'll send you a text message and let you know about unforeseen issues in your area, i.e. road closures, extended water-shutdowns, ice and snow affecting roads or any other other emergencies in your community.    

You can download the flyer in English too or check out some key tips below to keep in mind.

• Carry chains and know how and when to fit them. If you regularly travel over the Crown Range chains should be carried all winter.    

• Accelerate smoothly and brake gently - you'll maintain traction better if you don't put sudden force on the pedal.

• Plan extra travel time and slow down - don't rush, you're on a journey, not in a race.

• Four-wheel drive vehicles are no safer than other vehicles, especially downhill.

• Make sure all car windows are free of snow and ice before driving - you can receive an instant fine if you don't.

• Check the road conditions before you leave the house.

• Be aware that shaded areas may be icy all day.

• Ice can occur at any time of day.

• Take extra care on bridges.

• Double your following distances.

• Never overtake a grit truck.

• If it's one of those really cold, snowy or icy days, sometimes it's better to stay home and only travel if it's absolutely necessary.

A few easily consumable videos can be found below to help you be better prepared when heading out on the roads this winter.

When ice and snow hit we prioritise the main transport links first.   

Check out the maps below for priority roads and winter maintenance service levels.

CMA (Calcium Magnesium Acetate) is a biodegradable and environmentally friendly/non-corrosive de-icing agent that is sprayed on the roads to stop ice from forming to about -7 degrees.

We typically use a combination of grit and CMA however there are potential advantages to reducing gritting and increasing CMA usage such as:

• No grit to clean up  reducing cost and environmental impact

• Fewer traffic accidents on loose grit

• CMA lasts for up to 7 days, whereas grit can be displaced by traffic onto the verge after an hour

• Overall significantly lower cost

• Less grit on the side of the roads will improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists  

The downsides to CMA are that it can be removed by rain so can be a challenge to reapply quickly, and while it can be applied in light snow to stop ice packing down it will be less effective in a heavy snow event.  Should there be a heavy snow event we will still attend to that in the usual way by ploughing and gritting.