Gritney Spears & Alexander the Grit hit the roads: Essex gritters prepare for winter

Schools from across the county helped name a number of Essex County Council’s gritters earlier this year as part of a countywide competition.

Other winning names from Essex school pupils included: Grit Monster, Ice Buster, Mrs Good Grit, Levi, Rory, Gustav and Ice Exterminator.

This autumn the newly-named machines rolled out around Essex on “dry runs” to rehearse the main salt-spreading routes.

Essex County Council has fully stocked up on salt in all its depots, drawn up rotas for drivers and tested all its gritting lorries. County-owned local salt bins have also been topped up.

Cllr Eddie Johnson, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: “School children did a great job of naming our gritters last winter and I am sure they will be excited to see them out on Essex roads in the coming months.

“This autumn our gritter drivers will be out on the main roads to test the vehicles and the routes to make sure that they are ready to go the moment they are needed.

“Last year we had quite a mild winter, but we are never complacent and have put in place robust measures to prepare for any challenging winter conditions.”

Winter officially begins for highways maintenance engineers on Monday 24 October, starting with a “low-risk” period before moving up a gear into “high-risk” season in December.

The fleet of more than 60 vehicles, including eight brand new machines this year, can spread salt on about 2,000 miles of Essex highways on each run, including all the Council’s major routes. Around 200 tonnes of salt is used on each run, with each route on its salting network being treatable in a maximum of three hours.

Find out more about the winter salting routes and salt bin locations and staying safe and prepared in the winter