Since the bad weather hit on Friday, the county council’s highways service has been working flat out. Over 150 people are actively involved in teams throughout Cumbria clearing fallen trees, resolving street lighting problems, releasing flood water and repairing damage to roads and bridges.
The key aim of the teams has been to make safe and open routes in priority order. To ensure this happens effectively, operational teams have been set up to cover South, East and West Cumbria with one team focused on the Carlisle area. In addition to the road maintenance and repair teams, teams focused on electrical and road lighting have also been out in the county and resources from outside the county have been sourced.
In addition to the highways issues, the service have also helped in sourcing fuel for emergency services, and providing heating and lighting to council’s care homes and services.
Whilst dealing with problems that occurred at the weekend, the teams are planning to minimise further disruption that may come as a result of forecasted extreme weather over the next couple of days. Over 50 people will be working through the night to ensure that highways problems are dealt with promptly.
Whilst the county council's highways service will resolve problems as quickly as possible - it is important that the public take care on the roads and footpaths. People are advised to take extreme care when using footbridges and if possible not to use them. In addition, if cold weather arrives later this week, this may make driving hazardous due to ice on the roads- adding to the already difficult conditions.
A council 24 hour advice line has been set up to provide help and advice on matters relating to the flood and disruption due to weather. Emergency highways issues can be reported to this advice line on 0845 609 6609.