In order to prepare the winter service for the 2017/2018 season, the Administration des ponts et chaussées (Roads & Bridges Administration) carries out a dry test of the "preventive salting" type; such "dry tests" will be carried out by the motorway service and each regional service between 30 October and 10 November 2017 (between 03:00 and 06:00, before peak morning traffic). All the units engaged in the clearing and gritting operations of the state's road network are concerned by these tests.
The purpose of these tests is to verify the correct operation of all equipment, including installations, vehicles and spreaders, as well as the correct progress of the various initiation procedures and salting rounds. It is also a question of familiarising new memers of staff with salting interventions. This adequate preparation will make it possible to detect possible technical and functional problems which can then be addressed in time for the winter.
In case of dry pavements, a minimum of salt (5 grams per square metre) will be spread over a maximum distance of only 5 kilometres from a complete trip. The test will be done without snowploughs. In case of risk of ice, salting will be done with the appropriate salt weight.
