Hertfordshire County Council gritter crews stand down for summer after covering 93,000 miles in seven-month winter

Hertfordshire County Council’s 70 highways gritters and crews have been officially stood down until October.

The team were out 61 times in sub-zero temperatures in the winter of 2024-25 – up from 38 de-icing missions the year before.

These runs covered nearly 150,000 km (93,200 miles), the equivalent of travelling around Earth three-and-a-half times, and over a third of them were in the space of 13 days, at the start of January, during the winter’s severest cold snap.

Throughout the seven-month season from October 1 to April 30, more than 15,000 tonnes of salt were used on Hertfordshire’s roads, and just under 100 new salt bins were added to the network to bring the total to around 1,500.

The council processed nearly 300 Winter Self-Help orders, providing salt for community organisations, including almost 200 schools, to grit areas.

Over 400 residents took part in a social media competition to name Hertfordshire’s first electric gritter.

The winner, Claudia Sprinklevan, has been out on all 61 runs this year and has proven to be as reliable as the other gritters, but at a fraction of the carbon output.

The Electric Quick-Change Body (EQCB) has a gritter, tipper and cage body, which means Claudia will be in action on general maintenance duties for the rest of the year.

Mark Doran, HCC’s executive director of growth and environment, said: “Our winter service team works hard to make sure the highways are gritted, salt bins are filled, and schools and local community and resident groups have their salt deliveries to help them stay open and accessible during winter weather.

“We’ve seen many storm events this season, which have tested our resources, and I’m grateful for how the highways team has responded to the conditions caused by the extreme weather.”