Norfolk gritters out for the first time
Temperatures dropped last night (3 November)
With temperatures forecast to fall below zero last night (3 November), Norfolk's gritting fleet set out on the first gritting run of the season yesterday.
This year Norfolk’s 48 strong fleet of gritting trucks features seven brand-new vehicles which are on their inaugural grit run. The winners of a competition for Norfolk schoolchildren to choose names for the seven new gritters are set to be announced next week.
Each full gritting run in Norfolk sees 2,200 miles of road treated. All A and B-class roads and some C-class roads are treated with a focus on commuter and major bus routes and as far as is possible one route into all villages.
Last night's run included all parts of the county, except Norwich where temperatures were forecast to stay above zero.
Cllr Martin Wilby, cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, said:
"It’s a huge undertaking keeping a big rural county like Norfolk moving each winter but highway teams were well prepared for the first run.
"We can all do our bit to help keep safe by always driving to conditions particularly over the coming months whether it’s wet, icy or snowy.
"I’d urge people to keep an eye on our social media channels over the winter not just for updates on when we’re gritting, but also information to help people in the county cope during the colder months. Look for our #NorfolkWinter hashtag on Twitter and Facebook."
People can check which roads are on the council’s gritting routes for the 2020/21 season on the map.
On the same map people can find the locations of around 1,900 grit bins in the county that are filled by the County Council and which people can use on public pavements, cycle paths and roads.