Gritters hit roads as bitter winter cold snap set to send the shivers
GLASGOW is bracing itself for freezing conditions and the risk of dangerous ice, following a weather warning.
Council gritters made the first of their rounds on last night and were expected to be out throughout the week as the cold snap takes hold.
Teams covered the priority routes as set out in the local authority’s Winter Maintenance Plan ahead of the yellow warning for ice coming into force.
Areas targeted include priority carriageways, cycle routes and walk ways surrounding shopping centres and schools.
Staff will be monitoring the Specialist Road Forecasts, weather conditions and real time road surface state and temperatures throughout the week to get ahead of any blasts of snow and ice.
Residents are being urged to make use of the city’s grit bins and take extra precautions when driving.
Elsewhere, ScotRail are preparing for the cold weather ahead of temperatures dropping.
To beat the elements, ScotRail will be using meteorologists to map weather events as they approach, allowing bosses to deploy engineers to where they’re most likely to be needed.
A helicopter fitted with thermal imaging equipment will be used to highlight areas to engineers where cold weather could cause problems and a £1 million ‘winter train’ will be used to defrost points and other key parts of the railway affected by snow or ice. The train, which will be used across Scotland, features hot air blowers and heat-lances, which are used to thaw critical infrastructure and allow staff to reopen the line quicker.
Snowploughs will be on standby while engineers will be working around the clock to prevent vulnerable infrastructure freezing.
Train maintenance depots are being fitted with heated polytunnels, high pressure hot water ‘jet washes’, and space heaters to reduce the time required to defrost trains.