Gritting crews salting Lincolnshire’s roads hit an all-time record by Friday as snow and frost continued through March.
The county council had used 37,730 tonnes by the end of the week – beating the previous record set in the winter of 2009-2010 of 33,973.
But the crews were out again at the weekend as snow fell and sub-zero temperatures threatened to make roads treacherous.
County councillor William Webb has praised the gritter crews for their dedication and says the prolonged, cold winter has presented the highways teams with big challenges.
The average number of gritter runs in March is eight, but the crews had done 15 by Friday with further ones over the weekend.
The latest the county council has ever salted is April 14 in 2010, but that record could fall too unless winter eases its grip.
Salt stocks are high enough to cope if the wintry weather persists, with an 18,000 tonnes delivery last week boosting the stockpile to 32,166.
The county’s salt comes from Egypt and it’s used to grit 1,869 miles of A and B roads, a third of the entire network, and the 43 gritters had made 128 runs up to Friday.
South Holland’s roads were passable with care over the weekend although parts of the country came to a standstill.