Gritters will be on the roads across the region this evening for the first time this season.
November is here, and that means Nottinghamshire’s gritting teams move to full-time standby, ready for the winter ahead.
17,500 tonnes of salt are stored across four depots at Bilsthorpe, Markham Moor, Gamston and Newark. This is nearly 8,500 tonnes more than the recommended amount nationally and enough to carry out four gritting runs, every day, for three weeks.
Each year the 31-strong fleet of gritters and their drivers go onto full-time, 24-hour standby marking the official start of winter for Nottinghamshire County Council and its highways partner Via East Midlands.
Nottingham City Council’s teams are also at the ready with:
- Seven 17-tonne gritting trucks
- 3,000 tonnes of grit
- 200 grit bins in priority locations
– the top priority is keeping the city moving, especially those routes used by the emergency services and public transport. The busiest roads are gritted first – the ones people use to get to schools, workplaces and hospitals.
• Yellow warning for snow and ice in Nottinghamshire
Last winter, county council gritting teams completed 70 gritting runs and travelled over 112,000 miles – equivalent to travelling four and a half times around the world!
Gritting forms just part of Nottinghamshire’s winter activity, with teams ready to respond to all types of severe weather and help keep the county’s highways safe and moving.
