The Government of Spain has ready the winter road device for the state roads in Zamora

• The Government of Spain has 33 thrust snow removal machines, 9 brine snow removal machines, more than ten thousand tons of salt and 24 weather stations, to face the winter season in the Zamora State Network • Planned 55 parking areas for trucks and light vehicles, with 2,999 spaces, to avoid blockages • Ángel Blanco recalls that the device “tries to keep our roads in the best possible conditions, so that citizens are damaged as little as possible when these adverse weather phenomena appear anywhere in the province during the winter”

November 17, 2023.- The 789 kilometers of State roads in the province will be served this winter with 33 pusher snowplow machines, 9 brine snowplow machines, more than 10,000 tons of salt and 410,000 liters of brine, according to the winter road device that the Government of Spain has arranged to keep the State roads in Zamora in good use. This was announced by the Subdelegate of the Government in Zamora, Ángel Blanco, who also highlighted the strengthening of the mechanisms of information to citizens, who asked for their collaboration putting the emphasis on prevention in the face of adverse weather circumstances.

The meeting of the commission that coordinates the device in the State-owned Road Network in Zamora to face the prevention, surveillance and winter road actions 2023-2024 was held this morning at the State Road Conservation Center ZA – 1. The Government Deputy Delegate has chaired the meeting and reported on various aspects of interest. Given that the northwest area, bordering Galicia, is the most problematic in winter, the operation is also coordinated with the Subdelegation of the Government in Orense.

This meeting was also attended by the heads of the Civil Guard and the Traffic Subsector, Police Station, Provincial Traffic Headquarters, representatives of the Junta de Castilla y León, Provincial Deputation, Municipalities of Zamora, Benavente, Toro and Puebla de Sanabria, as well as the technicians of the Road Unit, Civil Protection, companies concessionaires for the maintenance and conservation of the state roads and a representative of the Spanish Red Cross in Zamora.

Special device

The subdelegate of the Government recalled that the scope of application of this protocol is the province of Zamora and that it is in force all year round, although a special device is activated in the times with greater risk in terms of adverse weather phenomena and depending on the forecasts.

The device for this winter counts in Zamora, in terms of human means, with about 200 people, maintaining the material means with respect to the last exercises. The number of snow removal machines is 33 with salt extender and 9 with brine extender. With regard to the foundation collection plants, there are 6 deposits and 40 silos that will store 10,070 tons of salt and 9 brine plants with 410,000 liters of product. In addition, there are 24 weather stations in the province, of which 21 are fixed and 3 are mobile.

Ensure traffic

The government deputy stressed that “these measures aim to minimize as much as possible the effects that snow and ice produce on the roads.” In this sense, Ángel Blanco added that “it is about keeping our roads in the best possible conditions, even when snow, water, ice, hail, fog or wind complicate the situation”. He explained that “the plan also aims to ensure that the sections and periods with traffic restrictions and detentions are minimal, and to offer timely care to people in the vehicles, when necessary.”

Ángel Blanco has indicated that “despite everything I have said here, despite the material and human resources and despite our commitment to work to try to ensure that there are no problems on the state’s roads, we know that there may be situations, due to the intensity of the snowfall or other extreme weather conditions, that oblige citizens not to use certain roads and also to demand the use of chains or even to prohibit traffic on certain stretches. If these circumstances come to pass, I ask the citizens for understanding and collaboration. That is why it is so important to remain attentive to the official information transmitted through the means indicated above. And it is essential to follow the indications given by Civil Protection, the Aemet and the DGT.”

789 kilometers of tracks

The subdelegate of the Government has highlighted the effort of the State in providing material and human resources so that the roads of the province are in the best conditions in this campaign, which translates into the wide deployment of snowploughing machines and salt plants, in addition to continuing the renovation of the most used units.

In this way, the state road network (789 kilometers, of which more than 300 are motorways) will be served this winter with the material means already described and a number of people similar to other campaigns, approximately 200, according to the standard reached in previous years.

With regard to the province ' s human resources, the personnel strictly attributable to the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda and the conservation companies, around 100 persons, the personnel of the Civil Protection Unit of the Government ' s Subdelegation, the Provincial Traffic Headquarters, the Civil Guard and the National Police are added.

2,999 parking spaces for the bagging of vehicles

Finally, regarding the resources available, the Government’s deputy delegate explained that there is a detailed plan with the planning of 55 parking areas, with 1995 parking spaces for trucks and 1,004 for light vehicles, along the entire network of state roads in the province of Zamora. These parking spaces are necessary in case of a preventive “bagging” of vehicles.

In addition, although with functional dependence on the Valladolid Road Unit, around 600 additional parking spaces for heavy vehicles are in service on the A-6 as it passes through Villalpando and Benavente.

Other means of support

In addition to strictly provincial resources, the Government ' s deputy delegate has referred to other shared means of support and services related to weather forecasting, alert dissemination, DGT or the Military Emergency Unit (UME) awareness campaigns.

Citizen collaboration

The Government’s subdelegation in Zamora recalls that citizen collaboration is essential in this campaign. In the face of cold and snow storms, citizens must take extreme precautions and be informed of the weather situation and the state of the roads before starting their journeys.

ESMA phases and DGT risk levels

The winter road campaign itself usually falls between November 1 and April 30, although the agents involved remain attentive and prepared if episodes occur before or after these dates.

From the Government Subdelegation, it is requested that the media familiarize themselves with the denominations used by the different administrations and entities to convey with criteria the situation we are facing.

In this way, the warning phase is declared when the AEMET issues warning bulletins for snowfall with yellow (which due to their special characteristics allow to foresee risks on the road), orange or red levels. The mere fact of activating this phase means that the Roads units mobilize their media in the area in which it is activated. To the salt spreaders and fluxes, to the snow-removing machines. It means that the Civil Guard deploys its traffic personnel and that the necessary forecasts are made in case the Executive Committee of this body should meet.

The pre-emergency phase will be declared when the intensity of the snowfall makes it possible to foresee difficulties for the circulation or when the falling snow, ice or other circumstance effectively hinders the circulation.

And the emergency phase will be declared when it is necessary to pay attention to people who have been blocked or detained and cannot continue their journey by their own means.

For its part, the risk levels established by the DGT are the following:

• Green Level. It begins to snow. It calls for prudence and attention to the meteorological part
• Yellow Level. There is snow on the driveway. Little covered It is requested to circulate with caution and it is prohibited to transit to trucks and articulates.
• Red Level. The driveway is completely covered with snow. Passenger cars with special chains or tyres can only be driven. It is forbidden to drive to trucks, articulates and buses.
• Black Level. The road is impassable (very thick) and traffic is prohibited. Closed to traffic.

Information channels

Citizens count, among other means, on the phone 011, the web https://infocar.dgt.es/etraffic/, the free application of the DGT, the Twitter account @informacionDGT and the Instagram account @dgtes, to keep abreast of the situations that occur and the circulation instructions in each case.