Devon’s fleet of gritters called into action and ready for more
Devon County Council’s gritting teams were called out last night (Sunday 16 November) for the first time this season.
With road surface temperature close to, or just below, zero yesterday evening, gritters were out on high ground routes on Dartmoor and Exmoor from 8pm.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Met Office today issued a Yellow Cold-Health Alert for the South West, which is due to be in place until Saturday (22 November), so the noticeably colder conditions are expected to feature throughout this week. Off the back of heavy rain from Storm Claudia, there is a risk of standing water and run-off which could lead to icy patches.
Weather conditions are being constantly monitored and gritting teams are ready to be called into action when needed. However, preparations started months ago. Gritting depots across the county are topped up with almost 24,000 tonnes of salt for the start of the season.
Gritting lorries have been serviced and maintained, and five of the 37 frontline gritters have been replaced with newer models to help improve reliability and reduce maintenance costs. All of these newer gritters feature touchscreen controls to enable drivers to adjust salt spreading rates and the position of their plough attachments without leaving their cab, which improves safety.
Residents are being reminded that they can also play their part to help gritter drivers over the coming months – simply by driving and parking considerately.
Councillor Dan Thomas, County Council Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “Gritting the roads is a really important part of our highways operations. If the gritters are out, they’re out for a reason, and they’re often out in the early hours of the morning and in treacherous conditions to keep roads on the gritting network as safe as possible for everyone who uses them.
“If you happen to be out when they are, please give way to them and please park considerately to allow the gritters to get around your towns and villages. If we can all do our bit so they’re not delayed while treating the roads that will be a great help.”
Last winter, around 8,000 tonnes of salt were spread on Devon’s roads – which is around 1,800 tonnes more than the year before, but below the average winter figure of 13,000 tonnes.
Simon Kane, Contract Manager, Devon Highways, said: “The gritter drivers deserve a huge amount of credit. You have to remember they’re also the teams that during the day are dealing with flooding issues and maintaining the roads. When they’re gritting the roads, more often than not, they're driving in the worst conditions in the depths of night to get the roads ready for the travelling public.
“We'd ask people to be considerate when they see gritters out on the highway network. They're big vehicles, difficult to manoeuvre, and difficult to reverse, so where you can, please give way and let the vehicles through. Particularly in rural areas, we'd ask people not to park where they shouldn't. If our drivers can't get past it holds up the service and delays treatment of the network.”
Monitoring the county's 8,000-mile road network 24 hours a day, every day of the year is Devon’s Network Operations Control Centre in Exeter which uses CCTV, weather information, traffic and congestion data.
The Control Centre links to the county’s network of 38 ice detector weather stations which check how conditions are affecting local roads. There are also a further 20 weather sensors at various locations around the county to help inform decision-making on when roads should be treated.
Around 14 miles of Exeter’s busiest cycle routes will again be treated this winter to support active travel.
As part of the Council’s winter self-help scheme to support communities that are off the gritting network, there are around 325 volunteer snow wardens across the county who are on standby to treat their priority routes during prolonged spells of severe weather.
You can find out more about Devon’s snow warden scheme on the County Council’s communities webpages or contact Parish Council representatives who can liaise with their local Neighbourhood Highway Officer.
More than 3,500 grit bins are also located across Devon to provide supplies of salt to be used on the public highway. Empty grit bins can be reported via the Council’s “Report It” webpages.
More information and advice is available on our winter travel webpages or for updates on Twitter follow @DevonAlert on X (Twitter) and Facebook.
