Fleet of 'faster' gritter vehicles will benefit Beds and Herts road-users this winter
Salt reserves three-times heavier than the Eiffel Tower could be used on our region's roads
Families travelling on roads across Beds and Herts this winter will benefit from a fleet of new, high-tech gritter vehicles.
National Highways received an investment of ÂŁ44m to improve its existing roster, with the brand-new lorries coming with a range of improvements.
Above all, they'll be able to operate at 10mph quicker than before - meaning they can make roads safer sooner when the temperatures drop below zero.
Ready for the cold
Darren Clark is the Severe Weather Resilience Manager at National Highways - he says the more efficient vehicles should help bring down journey times this Christmas:
"These vehicles at 50 mph are going only six miles less than a HGV maximum speed limit."
He continued, "We have in total over 530 vehicles across our whole network, and in total we have around 280,000 tonnes of salt in 128 depots, so we are well geared-up."
State-of-the-art improvements
Across the East of England there will be a fleet on almost 30 new vehicles for Beds and Herts, as well as parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
The new fleet has the following features:
• Enhanced performance: The Romaquip gritters can travel at a maximum speed of 50mph when salt spreading - ten miles an hour faster than earlier vehicles – helping to keep traffic moving on the roads during periods of salt spreading.
• Eco-friendly: They are the cleanest and most efficient diesel heavy goods vehicles available in the UK, meeting Euro 6 requirements - the latest EU emission standards for heavy-duty CI (diesel) engines to reduce harmful exhaust emissions.
• Smart technology: On-board functions allow salting routes to be uploaded directly into the vehicle cockpit, assisting drivers with the latest information on where and when to salt.
• Precision spreading: Latest tech advances enable drivers to choose the most appropriate treatment in different road conditions.