VIDEO: GRITTERS TO BE DEPLOYED OVERNIGHT FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS WINTER SEASON

Island Roads will be deploying its fleet of gritters overnight due to the forecast low temperatures. From 04:00 tomorrow morning (Saturday), gritters will be treating the usual routes across the Isle of Wight. It will be the 1st time this season that the gritters have conducted a full salt run. And, if the rumours are to be believed, it could be the start of a very busy year for the team… The PFI contractor relies on several sources of information to determine whether the network requires treatment. They use a forecast supplied by a national meteorological service and they also receive continuous readings and information from 2 weather stations at Duxmore and Rowridge. Around 43% of the Island’s roads are treated by 4 gritting lorries, with smaller, harder-to-reach areas and roads inaccessible to the HGVs serviced by a single specially-adapted Mercedes van. A total of 25 drivers in the Island Roads workforce have completed sufficient training to allow them to drive a gritter, with the training to do so more rigorous and complex than people expect. Last month Island Echo paid a visit to the winter maintenance depot at Stag Lane, where 1,600 tonnes of graded rock salt is stored ahead of the cold months. You can read more about the work of the gritting team at https://www.islandecho.co.uk/gritters-at-the-ready-as-island-roads-crew-gear-up-for-winter-season/ and in the video below… You can find out which roads will be treated at https://www.islandecho.co.uk/gritting-routes/. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YjLkYdOwMU&feature=youtu.be