Due to heavy snowfall and strong winds, it is no longer possible to keep all provincial roads and cycle paths passable. Extensive salting and snow clearing are underway. One salting round with a snowplow takes about four hours before the same spot is reached again. As a result, the accessibility and safety of all provincial roads cannot be guaranteed.
Prioritization
Deputy Bart van Dekken: “The focus is now on roads with the greatest impact on accessibility and safety. Priority goes to main roads, hospitals and care locations, larger villages, major industrial areas, and prisons. With these choices, we ensure that roads with the greatest social significance remain passable for residents, emergency services, and supply for as long as possible. Other roads may become unsafe more quickly and are therefore closed until we can resume the normal salting route. These measures are closely coordinated with the safety region and emergency services.”
In normal winter situations, preventive salting is done based on measurement data and a slipperiness warning system to prevent slipperiness as much as possible. In extreme weather like now, it is not possible to drive everywhere simultaneously, and some sections remain slippery.
The map shows with a dark blue line which roads are currently being salted.
Cycle Paths
All provincial cycle paths are currently no longer cleared of snow. Under these conditions, cycling is unsafe, and the number of cyclists has sharply decreased.
Stock and Deployment
There is sufficient salt and brine available to meet the current deployment. The slipperiness coordination works with current measurement data and weather forecasts to target salting actions as much as possible to the places where they are most needed.
Advice to Road Users
Only go on the road if it is really necessary. Due to snow, frost, and slipperiness, roads can quickly become unsafe. Those who must travel are advised to adjust speed and distance accordingly. Tips for safe winter traffic can be found at www.opwegindewinter.nl (links to another website).
On www.provincie.drenthe.nl (links to another website), we post current information about slipperiness control.