Bear Scotland gritters prepared for winter weather on Highland trunk roads
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Trunk road teams say they are ready to deal with adverse weather conditions as they launched their official winter service.
Bear Scotland looks after 2016km of trunk roads across the north-east and north-west of Scotland.
It has 94 winter vehicles, more than 180 operatives and 57,500 tonnes of salt which will be used to help keep the main road network across the north clear.
The winter vehicle patrols will focus on carrying out precautionary treatments which aim to stop ice forming. This involves spreading pre-wetted salt on routes forecast to experience low temperatures.
Central to Bear Scotland’s winter strategy is its 24/7 winter control room which analyses detailed weather forecasts and road temperatures to ensure treatments are carried out as necessary.
Iain Murray, Bear Scotland’s managing director, said: “This winter, our dedicated and experienced team across the north remain as committed as ever to doing as much as possible to keep Scotland’s key routes open and safe for motorists.
“We will closely monitor conditions on a 24/7 basis meaning we can act quickly to changing winter weather conditions.
“We remind members of the public to play their part this winter and ensure their vehicles are well maintained, pay close attention to local and national media to help plan ahead, and check in with Traffic Scotland for the latest journey information before setting out.”
Transport Scotland’s online ‘trunk road gritter tracker’ provides live tracking of gritters on the trunk road network. It displays the current location of gritters and a trail with a time range for when gritters have previously passed along trunk routes across Scotland.
Last year Bear Scotland carried out 7325 treatments on trunk roads in the north-east and north-west of Scotland.
The winter service period runs from October 1 to May 15 each year and can be extended beyond these dates should conditions dictate.
