Meet the gritting machines
19/11/2013
With the onset of colder weather around the corner, Hull City Council is reassuring residents and visitors about how they respond to keeping the city moving and safe.
Hull City Council is the first local authority in the UK to start using the City Ranger 2250 for winter maintenance.
Three four wheel drive Nilfisk City Ranger 2250's, drivers have been receiving training over the past few weeks, so they are able to operate the machines as a sweeper or as a snow clearing machine once fitted with snow ploughs, snow brushes and gritters. The council has also purchased a further attachment which means the machine can be adapted and become a weed ripper to help keep parks and gardens clear of weeds.
The multi-functional 'Nilfisk 2250 City Rangers' are used as a road sweeper during the summer and add a plough, brush and gritting hopper on the rear to clear snow in the winter months.
The footpath clearing equipment is in addition the seven gritting vehicles used to treat 250km of carriageway, split into six routes. Last year 6,249 tonnes of salt was required to treat the city's roads and footpaths.
Richard Townend, Safety Transport and Hub Manager, said: "While we are unable to predict the severity of what we face in the coming months, we believe that we are fully prepared. We have 5,000 tonnes of salt in stock ready to treat the city's roads and footpaths.
"The safety of drivers, pedestrians, visitors and residents is a top priority for us, and we have a team on standby to work 24/7 to keep the city on the move.
"We are delighted to be using the new equipment for the first time this year. It will allow us to cover more ground in terms of footpaths, use less resource and use the right amount of grit compared to hand gritting."
Ray Coffey, Strategic Account Manager for Nilfisk Advance, added:
"Following extensive trials and a full tender process, Hull City Council is the first local authority in the UK to start using the City Ranger 2250 with winter maintenance. I have spent 10 days over the past month training the drivers to operate the machines and to ensure the winter maintenance equipment is used to its full potential."
The arrival of equipment now allows us to cover more area and clear snow from full lengths of streets rather than busy pockets, in addition to the priority areas such as the main arterial routes, city centre, footbridges, underpasses, schools and school crossings, health centres and housing schemes.
A map of the gritting routes in the city can be found at www.hullcc.gov.uk
To keep people informed about how routine services are affected in adverse weather, Hull City Council will run regular updates on the Council's website www.hullcc.gov.uk as well as through the Hull Winter Facebook page and at Hullccnews via Twitter
