Our salt spreading superheroes certainly put in a shift during the winter season, covering vast distances each year to keep Cornwall’s roads moving.
But they are anonymous, recognisable only by their trademark yellow uniform and trail of ice vanquishing salt.
It’s time to give something back to our gritters - and what better way than to give them a name they can wear with pride next winter?
Richard Williams-Pears, Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio holder for transport, said:
“Cornwall’s gritters have completed almost 750 runs so far this season, covering more than 27,000 miles already. We think it’s better when they have a good name behind them and so are calling on our residents to help us with some Cornish-themed suggestions. Family friendly, of course!
“There are your Gritney Spears, Spreadie Mercuries and, who can forget Gritty McGritface, but we want our gritters to reflect Cornwall’s distinctiveness. You can draw inspiration from the heroes, places, legends and festivals that are unique to our home.”
Managed by Cornwall Highways, Cornwall has 25 gritters, with three in reserve. It takes around three hours to treat each of the Council’s 25 salting routes which cover around 1,420 km (883 miles) of the road network and include the most heavily used A and B roads in Cornwall.
Between them, these roads carry around 80% of daily traffic. Cormac also salt the roads to key sites such as hospitals, minor injury units, ambulance and fire stations, bus and railway stations and secondary schools.
Cornwall’s main trunk roads – the A30 to Penzance and the A38 - are the responsibility of National Highways (formerly Highways England) which manages its own winter service.
Steve Bayley, Cornwall Highways Network Manager, said:
“With the top priority being safety on our main roads, the teams have actively reviewed weather forecasts, analysed specialist data to determine the salt spreading actions and treated thousands of miles to keep Cornwall moving. But the next best activity? The competition to name the gritters is on! We're eagerly waiting to discover the suggestions – may the best Cornish gritter names win.”
For more information and to submit your suggestion visit letstalkcornwall.gov.uk
Residents without internet access can call 0300 1234 100 to give their suggestions. We’ll be accepting names until 11.59pm on Thursday, February 22.
