While the cold weather across the Isle of Wight allowed us to shiver with rain and black ice, spare a thought for those across Hampshire as snow and ice yesterday brought traffic chaos.  Duncan Smith provides the news:

The north and east of the county was the worst affected area, with some roads rendered impassable, in particular the roads around Alton. 

Extra police officers are remaining on duty this morning (Tuesday) to deal with the disruption related to the weather and a large number of abandoned vehicles in the north and east of Hampshire. 

The Highways Agency and the Met Office provided ample warnings and road users were urged to take extreme care and give plenty of extra time for their journeys after snow hit the county as forecast. 

The Adverse Weather Office at the police control room in Netley remained open all night to deploy and direct additional resources alongside partner agencies in response to the problems.

The main focus of the police operation was Basingstoke town centre where roads were gridlocked throughout Monday night because of snow and ice. At one point, it was estimated approximately 2,000 motorists were stranded in the Basingstoke ring road area. However, the number of reports had been reduced to approximately 20 motorists by the early hours of this morning (Tuesday) when more roads became passable.

Superintendent Roy Bayntun of Hampshire Constabulary said: 

“The police’s adverse weather office is prepared to deal with such extreme situations, and we mobilised extra resources and officers with specialist vehicles and equipment to reach motorists as quickly as possible in the worst affected areas around Basingstoke and Alton.

“It is estimated there are more than 200 abandoned vehicles, both in the Basingstoke area, and on the A31 from Four Marks and Ropley heading north towards the Surrey border. Some of these vehicles have been left in dangerous locations where there is a greater risk of road traffic collisions. The A31 should be avoided this morning if possible to help prevent further problems.

“In Basingstoke, we are taking a practical and reasonable approach. Our advice to people is to use common sense in deciding when to recover their vehicles . Some vehicles have been left in safe locations, other have not. Police are maintaining a high level of patrols to give assistance wherever appropriate to motorists and recovery services. Anyone who needs more specific advice can phone police on 0845 045 45 45.”

Superintendent Bayntun added: 

“Police are maintaining extra welfare patrols as well this morning (Tuesday) to check for any motorists who may still be stranded on minor roads.

“Any motorists who may still be stranded in more remote locations should remain with their vehicle, phone police and attempt to keep warm. Our patrols will reach you as soon as possible. If you have to abandon your vehicle, try to park it in a safe place, and leave contact details on the windscreen so the police can reach you because emergency services may have to arrange for your vehicle to be moved swiftly if it is causing an obstruction.

“Furthermore, if you cannot avoid driving this morning, please continue to take care, allow plenty of extra time, avoid heavy braking, and ensure you have a blanket, warm clothes, warm refreshments, and a fully charged and working mobile phone because the conditions are unpredictable in places.”

Motorists are advised to keep tuned into their local radio stations for the latest updates in their area.

The M3 and A339 cleared during Monday night, and police escorted gritting vehicles on the A31 so traffic could begin to move. Hampshire County Council gritting lorries worked throughout the night to salt those main roads worst affected by the extremely cold weather across the north of Hampshire tonight and during the early hours of Tuesday.

Hampshire County Council salting lorries have been on alert 24 hours a day since Thursday last week and teams have been working around the clock treating the road network, but the freezing rain across the county throughout Monday, followed by further freezing temperatures, has meant that the salt has been diluted causing severe problems on some routes, particularly around the Basingstoke area. The salting operation is ongoing but progress has been slow due to high volumes of vehicles that are still on the network. In some cases people have abandoned their vehicles because of the severe weather.

The Council’s priority overnight was the gritting and ploughing of main routes and repeat gritting of problem areas, while a countywide salting operation began at 5am to cater for early morning traffic.

Hampshire County Council set up five emergency rest centres in the north of Hampshire where motorists were able to shelter in the warm and have refreshments. These are situated at the following locations:

• Hatch Warren Community Centre, Longcross Lane, Basingstoke.
• United Reformed Church, London Street, Basingstoke.
• The Church of the Good Shepherd, Kitwood Road, Four Marks.
• The St. Lawrence Church on Church Street in Alton.
• The Methodist Church, Vivian Road, Oakridge, near the Reading Road.

Blankets and provisions were made available to those motorists who wished to stay overnight at the centres while preparations were made to bring in extra volunteers from other Hampshire County Council departments to help at the centres in the event of an increase in the number of motorists making use of the facilities throughout the night.