First journey of the season for council gritters | Newsroom

Bath & North East Somerset Council’s 9 gritting lorries have been out on their first run since March as street floor temperatures dropped beneath freezing in a single day on 17 November.

The lorries went out at 6pm, prioritising bus routes and roads offering entry to varsities and hospitals. 

Councillor Lucy Hodge, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Transport Delivery, mentioned: “We’re ready to provide a round-the-clock winter service to help keep priority routes open for our residents when the temperatures drop.”   

On common 57 gritting runs are carried out every winter, utilizing roughly 2,600 tonnes of street salt, with every run utilizing 45 tonnes to cowl 425km of freeway.

The council is properly ready for the colder months forward with 1,800 tonnes of street salt prepared in dry storage and checks and refills achieved for all its 434 grit bins. 

As temperatures drop, the council’s Highways group will carefully monitor specialist forecasts and knowledge from its personal climate stations to determine when low temperatures and climate circumstances may pose a menace to street customers. 

The council’s gritting fleet relies at depots in Clutton and Keynsham Recycling Hub, with 18 specifically educated drivers on stand-by to reply when required.

You can see a map of the council’s gritting routes and grit bin places on the council’s website. If there may be an empty grit bin in your space, let the council know by reporting it by way of its website. 

The council will use the colder months to hold out street upkeep together with repairing potholes, gritting and clearing gullies and drains. Highway patching and resurfacing works pause till the hotter, drier and extra appropriate climate of spring. 

ENDS