• Fleet of 47 winter vehicles ready to keep the South East safe

• 25,000 tonnes of salt in stock

BEAR Scotland and their fleet of named gritters are ready to keep trunk roads safe as temperatures decrease across the South East of Scotland.  

Transport Scotland’s operating company have a winter fleet of 47 vehicles, including 22 frontline spreaders. The 32-tonne eight-wheelers will be on hand for the duration of the winter period to treat the 505km of trunk roads in the area.  

An enormous 25,000 tonnes of salt has been distributed to BEAR Scotland’s seven depots in South East Scotland, waiting to be loaded into some of the largest spreaders in the UK including ‘Scoopy Doo’ and ‘Snow Place Like Home’.  

There will be 90 operatives working throughout the colder months ahead to keep roads moving. Many of these operatives will be in frontline vehicles conducting precautionary treatments to prevent ice forming. These treatments see them spread pre-wetted salt on routes that are expected to experience low temperatures. Other operatives will be in patrol vehicles, monitoring conditions and carrying out any required treatments. 

The four major bridges – Queensferry Crossing, Forth Road Bridge, Clackmannanshire Bridge and Kincardine Bridge – will be treated with potassium acetate de-icer by a dedicated tanker sprayer, in order to avoid salt causing corrosion in the bridges’ steelwork. 

Central to BEAR Scotland’s winter strategy is its 24/7 network hub control room and a dedicated winter team which analyses detailed weather forecasts and road temperatures to ensure treatments are carried out as necessary. 

Andy Thompson, BEAR Scotland’s South East Operating Company Representative, said: “Our team will be working tirelessly throughout the winter period to keep Scotland’s key routes operating. 

“Our main priority is always to ensure roads are as safe as possible for motorists to travel on, and our dedicated team will be doing all they can in the months ahead to make that happen. 

“It’s important that road users play their part too. Now is the time to ensure vehicles are well maintained. And as we head into winter, it’s essential that anyone travelling pays close attention to traffic updates and weather forecasts to allow for sufficient planning and time for their journeys.” 

Members of the public can live track gritters on the trunk road network using Transport Scotland’s online ‘trunk road gritter tracker’. It displays the current location of gritters and where they have recently treated trunk roads in Scotland. 

Last year BEAR Scotland used over 13,750 tonnes of salt in the South East and over 2,440 individual winter actions were undertaken. 

The winter service period will typically run from 1 October to 15 May each year and could be extended beyond these dates should conditions dictate.