DCC Acts To Keep Road Users Safe Over Winter

Winter brings its own deadly challenges to city motorists - frosts, ice and snow - but help and good advice are at hand.

From the end of this month DCC roading contractors will be on daily stand-by ready to spray or grit city roads when weather conditions threaten driver safety.

For the last two years selected high-use roads have been sprayed with Calcium Magnesium Acetate (CMA) which is applied before frosts and which prevents icing.

Contractors will also apply grit on other selected city roads as appropriate.

"While we have chemical and mechanical aids to combat winter road conditions the best defence is for motorists - and all road and footpath users - to exercise caution and drive or cycle or walk to the prevailing conditions" advises DCC Transportation Operations Manager, Graeme Hamilton.

"We can offer limited assistance but Dunedin has an extensive roading network which it is unrealistic to expect us to cover so it's up to everyone to take care: watch your speed, increase following distances, clear windows of ice and condensation before starting a journey - and treat everyone else on the road as though they were the world's worst driver. The best and safest drivers are those who drive to the conditions."

CMA is a chemical which when mixed with water and sprayed on the road prevents ice forming. It requires no costly clean-up and unlike grit doesn't block drains.

List of CMA Treated Roads
Three Mile Hill Road	5775 metres
Taieri Road	2760 metres
Maori Road	772 metres
Glen Road	1049 metres
Fea Street	289 metres
MacLaggan Street	401 metres
Brockville Road	2322 metres
Stuart Street (from Nairn Street to Octagon)	1513 metres

Contact details

Contact Peter Standring or Peter Hughes on 477 4000.

Last reviewed: 24 Apr 2009 4:32pm