Gritters out as temperatures drop

AS temperatures drop this week, Devon’s gritters will be out in full force on the county’s road.

Road surface temperatures are forecast to drop below -2C in some parts of Devon tonight and gritters will be out on all of the county’s primary salting routes from 6pm this evening.

The county council is starting the season with its gritting depots fully stocked with around 24,000 tonnes of salt.

Six gritters have been replaced with newer models to continue the ongoing upgrade of the authority’s winter fleet of 37 frontline gritters.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council cabinet member for highway management, said: “We always ensure that our winter service operations are prepared and resilient, and this year is no different.

“We’re starting the season with the usual amount of salt and the same number of gritter drivers on standby. We’ve also continued to upgrade vehicles and equipment to help keep Devon moving.

“The new control centre has had a year to bed in as it makes use of up-to-date web-based systems. This enables our teams to have the flexibility to call on additional support from staff working remotely should it be necessary.

“With an 8,000-mile highway network, we have more roads to look after than any authority in the country, so it’s impossible for us to salt every mile. Our teams are standing by to treat around 2,000 miles of Devon’s main roads on our primary and secondary salting network when needed. And we saw last winter the vital support of our volunteer snow wardens.”