Meet the man who sleeps, eats and grits

With one to two inches of snow predicted to fall overnight, Northamptonshire County Council has put it's Snow Desk into operation to co-ordinate gritting throughout the region.

The snow was expected to start falling between 7pm and 8pm tonight (Monday), although there has been no sign of it in the Hunsbury region as we approach 9.30pm.

Nevertheless, the area has been gripped by sub-zero temperatures all day and air temperatures are expected to fall to minus 3.5C overnight. Road temperatures are forecast to fall even lower to minus 6C.

All this persuaded the county council to launch the Snow Desk from 6am tonight.

Gritting teams, run by contractors MGWSP from bases in Brixworth, Towcester and Rushden, were out on the roads at 7pm tonight, and lorries will remain on standby for the rest of the night.

It is anticipated that further snow will fall throughout tomorrow in the form of showers.

MGWSP - infrastructure specialist Max Gurney and design, engineering and management consultancy, WSP - has managed the council's roads since April 2008.

During the majority of the year the company deals with uneven roads and potholes, but when the cold weather arrives they take to the gritting lorries, under the control of the Snow Desk.

A first person account on MGWSP's website reveals how worker Jack coped with January's treacherous conditions - and how the team prepares to face the snow and ice.

Jack said: 'I work as part of a team of 54 who keep the county moving when ice and snow sets in. We are a really close knit team who work together and are on call from October 1 to the end of April. Generally we work when roads are quieter and, as we often are out at night while you sleep, people do not realise just how much of the county we cover.'

In fact, Jack and his companions are responsible for Northamptonshire's network of 2,400 miles of road. The team's 27 gritters grit a remarkable 1,128 miles in three hours.
'The trucks can move at a reasonable speed when the roads are quieter at night, but there was so much ice and snow last time, we were out day and night,' Jack said.
'With the weather so bad earlier this year I was driving the same prioritised routes over and over. You can’t just do a road once when the snow keeps coming, we are often continuously ploughing as well as gritting.

'This year we are using a new product called 'Safecote.' This is covered in a sugar based solution called molasses which means it sticks better and we use less. Going to work has a whole new feel now as the grit barns smell sweet, in fact I smell sweet when I go home.'
Jack reveals how the gritters also lend a help helping cars stuck in the snow to escape. Many drivers simply abandon their vehicles when things get too bad, although this can delay the very gritting teams trying to make the roads manageable for them.
Jack said: 'The long hours can take their toll but it is the stick we get from the public that drives me mad sometimes. People seem to think we have can go anywhere, grit everything and that roads are all safe and clear, but we just can’t.
'Most of the estates are impossible to get in and out of and we simply cannot do them. We work really hard to keep routes open and also work with the Borough Council to keep paths clear...
'A lot of people don’t realise we also work with the emergency services and are often first on the scene at accidents. If you saw what I see you really would drive more carefully. Not all roads are gritted and people think they are and do not drive carefully. I wish they would.
'Earlier this year was the worst I have seen it for years. I slept, ate and gritted. Over and over again. Many of us spent a lot of time away from our families, and even missed our Christmas dinner.'
In all the county council has 12,000 tonnes of gritting salt stored at MGWSP's Brixworth depot.

But even the gritting machines are not enough in some case. The county council also has 37 farmers on stand-by ready to attach snow ploughs to their tractors and help clear the roads in snow storms.

Cllr Heather Smith, county council cabinet member for highways, minerals and waste, said: “It’s unusual to have such cold weather for such a sustained period in November but our grit barns are well stocked and our gritting fleet is ready to go.

“The north of the county has been hardest hit by the winter weather so far and this looks to continue this evening too.”

Gritting lorries went out on Saturday and Sunday afternoons focusing on priority one routes. What is also knows as ‘spot gritting’ also took place – focusing on areas where there had been water leaks and other wet areas.

Fleets also went out this morning to grit priority two routes.

The weather is expected to remain cold for the rest of the week with further snow showers expected in the next few days.