• The government delegate in Cantabria presented this Tuesday the Winter Road Plan and highlighted the coordination of the public services involved to guarantee the safety of the Cantabrians
Cantabria will have 46 snow-removing machines, more than 16,000 tons of founders and more than 300 people involved in the operation to deal with snowfall and adverse weather situations in the State Road Network during this winter season 2025-2026.
This was detailed on Tuesday by the government delegate in Cantabria, Pedro Casares, who presented at a press conference the Winter Road Plan accompanied by the head of the State Road Demarcation in Cantabria, Rosendo Martínez; the provincial head of Traffic, José Miguel Tolosa; and the commander of the Traffic Sector of the Civil Guard, Jorge Giro.
Casares has indicated that the Commission of Wintry Roads of Cantabria, has approved this Monday this Plan that “seeks to guarantee road safety and continuity of circulation in the state network in the face of snow or other adverse winter phenomena”.
The government delegate stressed that this annual planning seeks “greater coordination of all public agencies and services” involved in the operation in order to minimize the effects of snowfall on circulation and, therefore, on the daily life of the Cantabrians and the Cantabrians”.
“There is a lot of personnel involved in this plan, more than 300 people,” he stressed, while pointing out that all the teams involved in the operation have a “clear and shared objective: to act in a preventive manner to reduce the risk of accidents, protect road network users and, where appropriate, guarantee the attention of those who may be trapped in their vehicles.”
HUMAN AND TECHNICAL RESOURCES
Regarding the human resources that this Winter Road Plan has, Casares has reiterated that there are more than 300 people involved, around 130 of the State Road Demarcation in Cantabria, 180 agents of the Traffic Sector of the Civil Guard, plus the staff of the Provincial Traffic Headquarters and the Traffic Management Centers North (based in Valladolid) and Northwest-Cantabrian (based in A Coruña).
To all of them, the staff of the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) is responsible for providing weather warnings in alert situations, as well as the Civil Protection and Emergency Unit of the Government Delegation. There is also the collaboration of the Government of Cantabria, through the Directorates-General of Interior and Public Works and the SEMCA.
As for the technical means, the government delegate in Cantabria has detailed that there will be 46 snow-removing machines (42 of thrust and 4 dynamics), 16,110 tons of fluxes stored in tanks and 2,860 tons in the 33 silos, in addition to 822,000 liters of brine in 14 tanks and 16 production plants.
There are also six brine sprinklers in viaducts to counteract the effects of storms in the following ways: A-67, A-8, S-10, S-20 and S-30.
He has pointed out that all this material will also be used on the following conventional roads: N-611, N-621, N-623, N-629, N-634, N-635 and N-636.
“In total, the device, which is already available, will operate on 256 kilometers of motorways and 343 kilometers of conventional roads,” said Casares, who explained that all these means are going to be activated depending on the phase of warning decreed (alert, pre-emergency and emergency).
He has also detailed that the Winter Road Plan specifies the critical points and enclaves where difficulties of winter road are likely to arise, especially in the mountain passes that connect Cantabria with the Plateau. “The main roads that may be affected also include the A-67 and A-8, where, although interruptions are often punctual, high traffic intensity increases the risk of snowfall incidents,” he added.
For this reason, there are five video cameras in various kilometer points of the A-67, between Reinosa and Aguilar de Campoo (3 in Cantabria and 2 in Palencia), in order to know, in real time, the state of the roads and traffic.
In addition, he recalled that on the A-67 motorway, with successive tunnels, the DGT establishes by protocol that, when there are restrictions due to snow, the passage to vehicles with chains is not allowed, but only to those carrying winter tyres.
WARNINGS OF THE AEMET TO DECREE THE ALERT PHASE
As with other meteorological phenomena, the AEMET is responsible for providing meteorological warnings in alert situations.
Depending on the forecasts, activate the color code to report the risks: green (no risk), yellow (slight risk and recommendation to stay informed), orange (important risk and recommendation to take precautions and be prepared) and red (extreme risk and recommendation to take preventive measures and follow the instructions of the competent authorities).
PREVENTIVE ACTIONS AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE
He has also pointed out that the Plan contemplates the possibility of carrying out preventive traffic cuts in areas affected by intense snowfall, especially for heavy vehicles, which could be trapped and block the road. The Civil Guard Traffic Grouping, in coordination with the Traffic Management Center, will be responsible for enforcing these restrictions.
For cases in which weather conditions make it difficult to move around, pre-assigned parking points are established and, in emergency situations, advanced command posts will be activated to manage the actions quickly and in a coordinated manner. The Territorial Plan of Civil Protection of Cantabria (PLATERCANT) establishes the procedures for dealing with the occupants of immobilised vehicles.
RAIL TRANSPORT
The Plan also includes the protocols available to ADIF and Renfe to deal with adverse weather situations, especially on the line that joins the Plateau and the section of the Madrid-León line that runs through the south of Cantabria.