New four-wheel drive vehicles have been added to Nottingham County Council’s gritting fleet to help tackle hilly terrain in Gedling borough this winter.
The new vehicles are just part of preparation plans to ensure that the borough and the county can tackle whatever winter is prepared to throw at them this year.
Nottinghamshire County Council’s four salt barns are already full to the brim, giving it 12,000 tonnes more salt stockpiled than official government recommendations, putting Nottinghamshire in a strong position for dealing with the worst winter conditions.
Overall, the council has the capacity to store around 20,000 tonnes of salt – some 18,000 tonnes of under cover.
Checking and refilling of the 1,300 roadside grit bins has already begun and deliveries of salt to parish councils is planned for November.
There are 31 gritting lorries in the fleet, two gritting tractor units and two towable gritting units which can be used in severe weather – tracked by GPS technology.
The county council’s Gritter Twitter social media feed will once again be used to promote the daily gritting decision to all interested stakeholders.
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Meanwhile, dozens of volunteer snow wardens are once again on hand to assist in rural areas if the weather turns bad.
Councillor Kevin Greaves, Committee Chairman for Transport and Highways, at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “We plan for winter all year round and we are in a strong position and ready for the months ahead.
“We always give a high priority to winter maintenance and our preparations mean we will be ready to act as soon as any bad weather arrives.”
Garry Chadburn, Team Manager for Electrical and Environmental Maintenance for Via East Midlands, which is managing highways services on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “Our gritting teams are already on low-risk standby during October so we are poised and ready to treat our gritting routes as and when it is needed.”
The gritting teams have been on low risk standby since October 1, with them moving to 24/7 standby on November 1.
For more information about gritting routes, winter driving advice and other information visit: www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/winter
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