Today, Amey announced its Winter Service Programme for the Scottish South-West Trunk Roads network (NMC SW), which it operates on behalf of Transport Scotland.
At the heart of the Winter Service, which runs until May 2021, is a fleet of new 56 Econ gritters and snowploughs, 16 new footpath gritters, 12 tractors and 115 Highways Operatives.
The winter service vehicles, in their distinctive bright orange livery, will become a regular sight on the trunk road network this winter.
Traditionally, Amey has run naming competitions with local schools to give each of these gritters a different identity – but this year, with the challenges of the coronavirus crisis and in the interests of safety this has not been possible.
Therefore, Amey is running an appeal asking the Scottish public to name the rest of the NMC SW gritter fleet.
We have already started the ball rolling by naming one of our gritters, “Yes Sir, Ice Can Boogie”, in reference to the Scotland football team’s ‘unofficial’ anthem, and this has already proven to be a popular choice.
IRN-BRU® have also supported the appeal by running a competition to name a gritter, with “Grits You Through” being announced as the winner, today.
These vehicles follow in a proud tradition of gritters such as “Sir Salter Scott”, “David Plowie” and “Spready Mercury”. The naming appeal will run until Friday 15th January 2021, and winners will be announced between 23rd December until the closing date.
In addition, we are asking the public to name our new ‘mini’ footpath gritters in honour of Key Workers, Community Champions and Volunteers who have made a real difference to their communities during the pandemic.
Gritter and Mini-Gritter names can be submitted to Amey online via the NMC SW website: https://swtrunkroads.scot/winter-service/help-name-our-gritters/ and the winning gritters will be visible on the Traffic Scotland Gritter Tracker app: https://trafficscotland.org/wintergritterinfo/
With new Christmas Covid-19 restrictions being introduced for all but essential travel, Amey have developed a virtual Santa’s Grotto, which allows Amey staff and the public to take part in different festive fun events and support local charities.
This platform can be found here: https://swtrunkroads.scot/winter-service/visit-our-xmas-grotto/
The Winter Service for NMC SW is comprised of 27 Frontline Routes, 15 Patrol Routes and 12 Footway Routes (requiring 197km of winter treatment).
All the patrol vehicles are fitted with the latest Mobile Condition Monitoring Equipment, and all are fitted with Dash Cams. In addition, we will be using an innovative liquid brine solution on all our roads and footpaths, to provide more effective clearance of ice and snow.
In preparation for Winter in 2020 and 2021, Amey amassed 25,000 tonnes of road salt, 231,000 litre of Brine and 50,000 litres of Potassium Acetate, overseen by 10 Winter Service Duty Officers (WSDO), providing a 24/7 presence on the network.
To support the travelling public, a free Winter Road Alerts service is available, providing real-time updates on weather-related incidents on the network.
An email address is all that is required to sign up for this service:
https://swtrunkroads.scot/roadwork-alerts/
More details of NMC SW Winter Services can be found here:
https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/48662/winter-service-plan-2020-2021-sw-unit.pdf
Our full NMC SW Winter Plan can be found on the Transport Scotland website:
https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/48662/winter-service-plan-2020-2021-sw-unit.pdf
To report a problem on the network please visit:
https://swtrunkroads.scot/report-a-problem/
Real-time journey information can be obtained by visiting www.trafficscotland.org or via Twitter: @TrafficScotland