Help us to name our gritting fleet!
Parking, roads and transport10 January 2023
With North Northamptonshire Council on standby to deal with wintry weather over the coming months – the authority is giving people the chance to name 10 gritting lorries that will be keeping our roads safe, with winning entries printed on to the front of every truck.
The competition runs until Wednesday, January 25 and is open to schools, classes or individuals. The winning entries will have the name painted onto the gritter.
In North Northamptonshire a total of 821 miles of road receives precautionary gritting – almost the same distance as between London and Dundee and back. This service is carried out by highways service provider Kier Highways
Entries should be sent to [email protected] or tweet @NNCHighways and include:
- A suggested name of the gritter
- Applicant’s name
- Applicant’s contact details
- And be clean, original and creative
About the gritting service
The Council has reserves of 2,500 tonnes of salt, with 643 grit bins across the region filled for use on public roads and footpaths.
The gritters are powered by sustainably sourced Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), which reduces the carbon produced from combustion engines by up to 90% compared to diesel. The move demonstrates Kier and NNC’s shared commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.
Enhanced weather forecasting and temperature readings are taken via weather stations and sensors set out along North Northamptonshire’s roads, with updates sent every 15 minutes.
Through route-based forecasting, routes will be treated if the temperatures are forecasted to drop below 0.5C.
The gritters are also fitted with advanced GPS technology which requires only one person to operate the vehicle in clear conditions, by accumulating route data and reporting back to the office to ensure that works are safely delivered.
If grit bin salt stocks run low, you can report that they need refilling via the Street Doctor service.
More winter information and how to stay safe is also available on our Highways pages, while people can keep up to date with highways and travel news for North Northamptonshire Council highways on Twitter and Facebook.
You can also learn more about Kier Highways online.