Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has confirmed that the Department's winter service team is fully prepared for the onset of colder weather, which is expected to bring challenging conditions to Northern Ireland's roads.

The assurance comes as the Met Office has issued a yellow warning, advising that wintry showers are likely to cause icy patches and possibly lying snow on higher ground.

Preparations for the winter service have been ongoing for several months. The Department has around 300 staff and 130 gritters available to salt the main road network, ensuring traffic can move safely. Twelve specialist snow blowers are also on standby for deployment if required.

Minister Kimmins stated: "Prior to the start of each winter service season, my Department carries out a significant amount of pre-planning to ensure a state of readiness. Staffing arrangements have been finalised, pre-season checks on winter service equipment are now complete and salt stocks have been replenished." The winter service operates from October to April, with up to 300 personnel on standby every night, ready to salt approximately 7,000 kilometres of the main road network. Minister Kimmins has allocated funding of £7.3 million to ensure the Department can deliver a full service programme to keep roads safe during icy and snowy conditions. Staff are now being deployed as required due to the predicted dip in temperatures this week.

The Department currently holds around 70,000 tonnes of salt in stock. Furthermore, the public can assist themselves by using approximately 5,850 salt bins and 52,300 grit piles available on a self-help basis for selected routes not included in the primary salting schedule.

The Department focuses its salting efforts on main through routes that carry over 1,500 vehicles daily. In exceptional circumstances, roads with difficult topography carrying between 1,000 and 1,500 vehicles daily will also be salted. This covers 28% of the road network, directly benefiting around 80% of road users. Contingency arrangements are also in place, as in previous years, to use contractors and local farmers to clear roads in the event of significant snow.

Continuing, Minister Kimmins added that the current weather warning, coinciding with Road Safety Week, is a timely reminder for the public. She said: "During wintry weather my staff work round the clock to grit the roads and keep traffic moving but despite our best efforts it is important to remember that we cannot guarantee ice free roads even after salting. The best advice is in the Highway Code, take extra care even if roads have been salted, be prepared for road conditions changing over short distances and take care when overtaking gritters."