With the winter season upon us, the gritters are already getting serviced, fueled up and ready for when they’re needed.
Gritters are geared up for call outs of the winter season and Local salt barns have been piled to capacity ahead of this winter.
Mayo County Council told the Liberal that they deliver an annual winter maintenance service with gritters on standby 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the season, which runs from the 16th October until 30th April each year.
The County Council’s fleet of 2 No. 9m salt spreaders, 12 No. 6m salt spreaders, 6 No. 2m salt spreaders and 3 No tractor spreaders are available when required. Precautionary gritting is normally done late in the evening, before the coldest temperatures arrive, consideration is made not to send gritters out too early, especially if rain water could wash salt away. The TII procures bureau weather services to assist Mayo County Council in predicting when frost, ice or snow may occur on the road network. These services are currently provided by a combination of Met Éireann and Vaisala.
There are over 60 staff involved in the provision of the winter service during normal winter weather including Winter Service Manager, Duty Engineers, District Engineers, and Winter Service Operatives. This number is increased during severe weather as resources allow.
Mr Paul Dolan Head Of Roads, said:
“Keeping the roads safe during winter is both a science and an art. Our carefully planned gritting routes cover 1,075 km of road across 23 treatment routes which equates to 100% of the national primary network,100% of the national secondary network, 82% of regional roads and 3% of the local road network.
“We monitor and analyse a range of forecasts so roads are treated when the salt will be most effective. Salt lowers the freezing temperature of water, making ice less likely to form, so we have to carry out precautionary gritting before any ice. We then undertake reactive gritting as needed in response to accumulations of snow and ice during severe wintery weather.”
“Even with the most careful and thorough planning, the use of special Met Office forecasts and the latest ice prediction technology, winter service is really a battle against the elements and ice-free roads cannot be guaranteed. Motorists have to play their part by taking extra care during wintry conditions. The best advice is in the rules of the road – drive with care even if roads have been salted, be prepared for road conditions changing over short distances and take care when overtaking gritters.”