Gritters to hit East Sussex roads tonight
21 vehicles are being put through their paces ahead of winter
The weather may be somewhat warm and there's no snow in sight, but gritters will be taking to East Sussex's roads on Monday (September 16th).
A fleet of 21 vehicles will be travelling along the most heavily used roads in the counties as part of efforts to fine-tune the county's response to wintry weather.
From 7pm gritter drivers will be checking the vehicles, re-familiarising themselves with all A roads across the county, and ensuring overgrown vegetation isn’t causing obstruction for the three-metre wide gritters.
An East Sussex Highways spokesperson said:
“This dry-run is important as it gives us the chance ensure everything is working as it should and everyone knows their role so that when extreme weather arrives, we are ready to go.
“This winter we have purchased 21 new gritters, having previously hired the vehicles, so the two drivers assigned to each need time to re-familiarise themselves with the gritters and the routes.
“Ahead of Operation Snowdrop, we would ask members of the public to ensure that any hedges or trees on their property that overhang the road are cut back to allow ample room for a gritter to pass.”
Around 10,000 tonnes of dry rock salt is stored at the county’s five highways depot – Ringmer, Heathfield, Polegate, Cripps Corner and Maresfield, ready for use when the road surface falls close to or below freezing or when snow is forecast.