Anglesey’s new gritting fleet has already been proving its worth during the recent cold and icy winter weather.

The County Council recently invested £280,000 to upgrade its gritting lorries, which are vital to maintain winter resilience of roads across the Island. The six gritters have helped keep priority roads clear of ice and snow; and keep drivers as safe as possible.

The gritters have also been given their own unique names, which promote our local culture and the Welsh language, and reflect the routes they travel.

• Dwynwen covers the south of Anglesey (Route 1)
• Cybi covers the west of Anglesey (Route 2)
• Eilian covers the north west of Anglesey (Route 3)
• Alaw covers the north east of Anglesey (Route 4)
• Seiriol covers the east of Anglesey (Route 5)

Should one of the above vehicles suffer a breakdown, a sixth gritting lorry, Mona, can be deployed to ensure that the gritting service remains unaffected.

Gritting lorries are deployed when road temperatures hit one degree Celsius or below. It takes approximately 30 tonnes of salt to treat the 420km roads on Anglesey’s gritting routes.

Head of Service Highways Waste and Property, Huw Percy explained, “Ensuring the safety of road users during the winter months is a top priority. Our gritting fleet is vital in maintaining the winter resilience of our road network and keep Anglesey road users as safe as possible during severe and challenging weather conditions.”

Three weather stations located in key areas on the island are closely monitored throughout the day to analyse weather conditions and forecasts.

This allows the County Council to provide its service contractor, Alun Griffiths, with real-time information to help ensure gritters are sent out at the right times.

Highways portfolio holder, Councillor Bob Parry, said, “The gritting team do a great job and I would like to thank them for working tirelessly throughout these challenging winter months. Keeping the roads clear and safe is vital to ensure that our residents, and especially key workers, have been able to use our main roads.”

He added, “I'm pleased to see the names given to these new gritters reflect our local culture and the Welsh language. I look forward to seeing them out and about when treating our roads and helping to keep drivers safe.”

More information regarding the gritting routes can be found here:

https://www.anglesey.gov.uk/en/Residents/Parking-roads-and-travel/Roads-and-pavements/Winter-maintenance/Winter-gritting.aspx

Ends 03.03.21