The North West Unit saw a whopping 59 days of snow during the winter period. BEAR Scotland’s winter service team kept the trunk road network safe every day, ensuring the roads were clear and suitable to drive.

To allow us to take early action during winter, BEAR undertakes extra monitoring of the roads which helps identify how much treatment is needed and when. So far this winter, 5,842 treatments have been carried out, using a total of 31,787 tonnes of salt.

As always, winter brought its challenges. On Saturday 11 January, the network hit a low of -12.5°C on the A835 at Altguish, just north of Garve. And later in the month, we experienced the worst of five winter storms to hit the north west of Scotland, Storm Éowyn. The winter team responded quickly to close roads covered in debris and did a fantastic job clearing up the aftermath.

BEAR Scotland’s Severe Weather Manager, David Wright, answered a few questions on the 2024/25 winter period.

What measures have BEAR taken to keep the network safe during the winter period?

To ensure safety across the network during the winter period, BEAR takes extra precautions. All incidents are dealt with promptly to avoid back up of traffic or further incidents. Precautionary salt treatments are carried out on the road regularly to help prevent incidents from happening. As well as this, BEAR has a dedicated delivery team to ensure monitoring and operations are carried out in alignment with our contract.

What have been the most significant challenges faced by your unit this winter?

The biggest challenge BEAR faced this winter period would have to be Storm Éowyn. Storm Eowyn caused widespread disruption across the North West Unit. Its winds caused fallen trees and debris to end up on carriageways, with a high of 133mph recorded at Loch Restil. The aftermath of the storm called for major efforts from our winter team, who did a great job to get carriageways clear and active again.

What has been the highlight for the winter service team this year?

I think it’s very difficult to choose a standout moment from the winter period, as all situations were dealt with to the best of our teams’ ability. All incidents and issues have been dealt with timeously and efficiently in relation to our available resources. Despite the difficulty of the weather conditions, the teams always manage to do an excellent job while staying safe and mindful of the road conditions.