Island Roads will deploy its fleet of gritters across the Isle of Wight for the first time this winter season tonight (Thursday), as road surface temperatures are forecast to fall below -2c.
The highways contractor has confirmed that its run will get underway at 23:00 tonight, marking the earliest start to its winter gritting operations for some 5 years. Last year, the first run was on 19th November.
With freezing conditions expected overnight, motorists are being urged to take extra care when travelling across the Island’s road network.
Island Roads has said:
“Please take extra care wherever you are on the network during freezing weather.”
Around 43% of the Isle of Wight’s roads are covered by the gritting operation, with 4 specialist lorries treating the main routes and a specially adapted Mercedes van used to access smaller roads.
Island Roads uses weather forecasts alongside information from 2 weather stations at Duxmore and Rowridge to determine when treatment is necessary.
Motorists can view the roads included in the winter gritting network at www.islandecho.co.uk/gritting-routes/.
