'Spreaddie' out as Mercury rises

Lincolnshire County Council’s gritter, nicknamed Spreaddie Mercury, was sent out for reactive sand dusting on the county’s roads for the first time ever on Monday.

The council said the smallest gritter in its fleet is usually on call to put sand on the roads in case of oil or fuel spills but is used in extreme temperatures is used to dust melting bitumen, which can turn to liquid in temperatures in excess of 50C.

It reported a peak road surface temperature of 56.3C on Monday afternoon.

The council said its gritting team will be on the lookout for reports of possible heat-related issues on the county’s roads from members of the public, highways officers and the emergency services and that any surface concerns reported will be investigated and addressed where necessary,

Spreaddie is due to be taken out of service at the end of the year after 10 years with Lincolnshire and has not previously been called out because of high temperatures affecting its road network.

Cllr Richard Davies, executive member for highways, said: ‘This gritter might have a memorable nickname but it carries out a very serious job. So far we have not had to send the machine out for any heat-related issues at any time over the past five years plus.’

Last week the Road Surface Treatments Association said its members should advise their customers that using grit dust on the roads during high temperatures can help keep the road network from melting excessively.