Gritters on standby as temperature drops

Gritting teams in the county could be out tomorrow night (Saturday, January 28) with forecasts suggesting road temperatures could drop below freezing.

MET Office forecasts are monitored daily by Via East Midlands’ Newark depot – Via is managing highways services on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council as they work in partnership on the ongoing annual winter planning preparations.

The teams will continue to monitor the situation closely and look at weather forecasts throughout the weekend and into next week.

Meanwhile the county council’s Chief Executive Anthony May accompanied one of the gritting lorries as it salted main routes last night (Thursday, January 26), meeting crews beforehand at Gamston depot.

Mr May said: “I have met with the gritting teams in previous winter seasons and I was keen to once again meet the staff who work so hard in often difficult and freezing conditions and to get a first-hand experience of the challenges faced by teams as they grit the roads.”

The County Council and Via East Midlands are working with district and parish councils to ensure the maximum practical winter support can be provided to communities across the county.

The council stockpile 20,000 tonnes of salt at the start of the winter – well above Government recommendations and salt is distributed from four depots across the county – based at Markham Moor, Bilsthorpe, Newark and Gamston.