For the second night in a row, gritters will be out and about across the Island’s road network tonight (Thursday) due to the forecast temperatures.
Island Roads says that road surface temperatures could drop to -1c or below overnight.
As such, the decision has been taken to deploy the fleet of gritters, which will be carrying out a full run from 19:00 this evening.
Island Roads is advising motorists to take extra care when driving with icy surfaces possible. You can find out which roads will be treated at https://www.islandecho.co.uk/gritting-routes/.
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…
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.
The excitement!! Winters coming and the gritters are out!!