The delegate of the Government, Pedro Blanco, presided today the signing of the Protocol that sets in motion in Galicia the Winter Plan on the roads of the State for the 2023-2024 campaign. The objective is, in case of adverse weather conditions, to reduce as much as possible the number of sections with traffic restrictions and to avoid the retention of vehicles, or where appropriate, to minimize their duration.
The event was attended by the general head of the Civil Guard, Miguel Ángel González Arias; the lieutenant colonel head of the Traffic sector of the Civil Guard of Galicia, Orentino Varela; the provincial head of Traffic of A Coruña and coordinator of the DGT in Galicia, Victoria Gómez, and the Head of the State Road Demarcation in Galicia, Ángel González del Río.
The protocol will be active from November 1 to April 30 next year and will have 104 snowploughs, one more than last year. Together with them, in the conservation centers of the State Road Demarcation in Galicia will have stored, at the beginning of the campaign, 21,014 tons of salt, and 3,257,000 liters of brine, which will be reinstated the measure that advances the campaign.
On the human side, the delegate advanced the mobilization of 309 people (drivers, technicians and operators) to guarantee the vialidade of the roads and their conservation. They will be joined, when necessary, by the 900 agents of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard and the staff of the General Directorate of Traffic in the Community.
As in the previous campaign, the protocol establishes a device to guarantee security in the area affected by the fall of the Castro viaduct, in the A6, as it passes through Pedrafita. The delegate pointed out that the Government will maintain this year the reinforcement of 3 snowploughs in the area that add to the usual means of the Pedrafita Conservation Center. In this area, the Government is working with the expectation that the first of the viaducts under construction will be opened before the end of the year.
In addition, collaboration with the State Meteorological Agency is maintained in the monitoring of adverse meteorological episodes. Through this cooperation, the people responsible for the device will be able to have real-time data on the evolution of predictions to be able to make operational decisions more quickly and effectively.
Winter Plan
The object of this protocol is to establish the organization and procedures of action of the services, means and resources of the General Administration of the State available in the area of Galicia that, faced with the prediction of precipitation in the form of snow or other extreme weather situations, it is necessary to mobilize to ensure the road of circulation in the State Road Network (2,500 kilometers adding motorways –AP-9 and AP-53–, motorways and conventional roads).
The document specifies the procedures for action and coordination that will be implemented when an adverse weather forecast is received and during its development with the definition of the particular mechanisms of each phase of the same: alert, pre-emergency and emergency. The mechanisms of information, coordination and cooperation with the bodies and authorities of the Xunta de Galicia and the different local administrations are also specified.
In addition, the Plan determines the stretches of roads that may be more contentious in the event of snowfall, the Advanced Command Posts that will be established; the areas for parking heavy and light vehicles, in cases of closure or traffic restrictions, and the Conservation and Exploitation Centers where snowploughing machines and other equipment are located.