Gritters primed for 145,000-mile winter mission

Nick Preston says technology in each cab means staff can concentrate on driving

Tonnes of salt are mounting up and the county's fleet of gritters are on standby for the season's first icy spell.

BBC Radio Norfolk took a closer look at one of the county council's seven salt barns - each used to house some 3,000 tonnes of grit - as the team prepares for its chilly challenge.

Each winter, 60 gritters cover some 145,000 miles (233,000 km) spreading 14,800 tonnes of salt on Norfolk's roads.

Nick Preston, who manages the gritting rota, said the depots would be full of salt "very shortly", with the fleet kept fully prepped all year for the winter-long mission.

Each gritter discharges salt according to a pre-programmed route

He said the council had invested in 45 new gritters in the past couple of years, with each machine finely-tuned to keep roads ice-free.

"We have a lot of technology; we can programme the route remotely, so the drivers can focus more on the driving element," he explained.

"The salts are all automated and will come out when it needs to, and shut off when it needs to.

"It keeps the drivers safe concentrating on driving that route, obviously in dangerous conditions at times."

• Could you name Norfolk's new gritters?

As the temperate drops, usually in mid-November, the team is provided with a forecast which highlights hazards like hoar frost ice and snow.

"We normally look to do a pre-action, get the salt down before the ice has formed, then once the machines are loaded up we let them out and it's about three hours for each route, so it's a long process."

Radio Norfolk is calling on its listeners to name five Norfolk gritters, like Spread Sheeran and Spready Mercury in Suffolk.

Entries need to be sent to the station by 24 October.