Gritney Spears or Gritty Gritty Bang Bang?
Friday, 25 October 2019
We’ve a fleet of ten spanking new gritter lorries coming to replace our 10-year-old ones. They need names.
And they are rather special. Instead of just spreading salt like the older ones, they can spray a mix of brine (salt-water) and rock salt. Why does that matter? Traditional grit needs vehicles travelling over it, dissolving it, before it starts to melt snow and ice. With this system roads become clearer much faster, especially less well-travelled ones.
The new machines are also a lot greener. They have state-of-the-art diesel engines and can direct their spread much more precisely. Salt is harmful to the environment so the less we use the better and it can cost up to £45 a ton.
Another benefit is that passing and following vehicles won’t be as badly peppered by the grit. In fact, with these new machines, you often won’t be able to tell if they are gritting or returning empty to the depot to refill unless you follow their progress live online. A new service we’ll have on our website once the fleet is operational.
Putting forward a name is simple: email namethegritter@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk and we’ll pick the best.