![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_Screenshot-2026-01-04-085907.png\")
A map showing the gritting network around Northern Ireland(Image: DfI)<\/p>\nAround 300 staff and 130 gritters salt the roads around Northern IrelandA map showing the gritting network around Northern Ireland(Image: DfI)<\/p>\n
As Northern Ireland is covered in snow and ice as temperatures plummet, the Department for Infrastructure’s winter service is taking action to keep the region moving.<\/p>\n
The main through routes in Northern Ireland<\/a> carrying more than 1,500 vehicles per day are salted as part of the service. In exceptional circumstances, roads with difficult topography carrying between 1,000 and 1,500 vehicles daily will also be salted.<\/p>\n This means that 28% of the road network will be salted, directly benefiting around 80% of road users. A weather<\/a> warning for snow and ice is currently in place across much of Northern Ireland, and will remain in place until midday on Monday, January 5.<\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE: Simple kitchen hack to de-ice your frozen windscreen safely this winter<\/a>READ MORE: NI weather: All you need to know as Met Office forecasts snow for weekend<\/a><\/p>\n Around 300 staff and 130 gritters work hard to salt the main roads to keep traffic moving<\/a> safely and freely. Twelve specialist snow blowers are also available to be deployed if required.<\/p>\n Speaking as the winter service began in November 2025, Infrastructure Minister<\/a> Liz Kimmins said: “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.<\/p>\n \u201cOur winter service operation remains in place from October to April and every night up to 300 people will be on standby ready to salt around 7,000 kilometres of the main road network main roads helping drivers to cope with the wintry conditions.”<\/p>\n A map showing the routes in Northern Ireland on the gritting network can be found by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n When does gritting take place?<\/p>\n DfI duty controllers are on call 24 hours a day in each of their four divisions. Based on all of the forecast data and local knowledge, they will make the appropriate decision for their local area.<\/p>\n The season usually lasts from early November to late March but winter service will be provided outside this period if necessary.<\/p>\n Report an issue with ice or snow<\/p>\n You can report an ice or snow issue on a road or street by using the online map. You can also apply for a salt bin or pile, or a salt bin refill. Salting of main roads takes place to help traffic move safely.<\/p>\n Find out more by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage <\/strong>here<\/a> <\/strong>and <\/strong>sign up to our daily newsletter<\/a> <\/strong>here.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Around 300 staff and 130 gritters salt the roads around Northern IrelandA map showing the gritting network around…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":673226,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[84491,81144,1142,1144,760,16,15,741],"class_list":{"0":"post-673225","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-department-for-infrastructure","9":"tag-in-the-know","10":"tag-met-office","11":"tag-northern-ireland","12":"tag-traffic-and-travel","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-weather"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115836739059573958","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=673225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/673226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=673225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=673225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=673225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_gritter-stockjpg.jpg\")
Gritter lorries in Northern Ireland (stock image)(Image: DfI)Which roads are gritted<\/p>\n\n