Kildare County Council opens new Machinery Yard and Regional Salt Barn

Kildare County Council hosted the Cathaoirleach of the County of Kildare, Councillor Daragh Fitzpatrick for the official opening of the new Kildare County Council Machinery Yard & Regional Salt Barn.

The official opening marks the culmination of years of design, planning, consultation, and construction works. The new development replaces the existing Machinery Yard facility currently located in Newbridge and will be used by Kildare County Council to carry out a range of activities including:

•             Coordination of winter maintenance operations

•             Coordination of surface dressing operations

•             Vehicle hire and purchase

•             Plant storage

•             Provision of vehicles for pothole repair and street sweeping

•             Fuel Storage for use by Kildare County Council as part of its operations

•             Salt Storage

•             Bitumen Storage      

The new development comprises two main elements, namely a new Machinery Yard and a new Regional Salt Barn. The Regional Salt Barn provides storage for approximately 23,000 tonnes of salt for use by Kildare County Council and several other local authorities in the region as part of winter maintenance operations. The storage and distribution of the salt will be operated by Kildare County Council on behalf of the Department of Transport. The project is half funded by the Department of Transport under Project Ireland 2040.

The operational roles within this new facility will comprise of fitter mechanics, drivers, administration staff, Machinery Yard Superintendent, Foreman, Senior Executive Engineer, Storeman, and a General Operative. 

The two main structures on the site are:

• An Administration Building & 4-Bay Workshop. The Administration Building contains offices on the first floor (350 m2) over storage & ancillary accommodation on the ground floor (320 m2). The 4-Bay Workshop (630 m2) is attached to the Administration Building.
• A 23,000 tonne (3,480 m2) Regional Salt Barn. An open-fronted lean-to (415 m2) is located at the side of the salt barn for the storage of snow ploughs, gritters and other equipment associated with the operation and management of the salt storage and distribution operation. A small welfare building (52 m²) is provided for use by nighttime gritter drivers.

Ancillary structures/elements that also form part of the development include:

• Site Entrance and Weighbridges
• Perimeter fences/walls and internal fencing to secure storage areas
• Fuel storage and dispenser for own use
• 30,000 litre raised bitumen tank with access stairs and platform
• 2no. 10m x10m aggregate storage bays
• 1no. covered 10m x 10m covered ancillary storage bay
• Covered truck wash area with raised platform

Sustainable design was central to the development of this project, and includes a number of elements including Photovoltaic (PV) panels, energy usage monitoring, rainwater harvesting, EV charging, LED lighting to building and Near Zero Energy Building design.

Cathaoirleach of the County of Kildare, Councillor Daragh Fitzpatrick said; “I’m delighted to be here to officially open this fantastic new machinery yard.  The opening marks the culmination of expert design, planning, consultation, and construction works.  I look forward to seeing the resources of this state-of-the-art facility, serve the needs of the county for years to come.”

Sonya Kavanagh, Chief Executive, Kildare County Council said; “Kildare County Council is delighted to officially open this new state of the art Machinery Yard and Regional Salt Barn. The very best of facilities have been developed here that will allow us to operate our roads maintenance programmes to the highest possible standard.  Sustainability has been central to this development, from the design through to the operations, such as our growing fleet of EVs.”   

Kildare County Council has recently taken delivery of 5 electric vehicles for use in road operations. They include three light bin trucks, which will be used to facilitate bin emptying and street cleaning operations across the county and the other 2 vehicles are light vans which will assist with road maintenance operations throughout the county.

Kildare County Council has also taken delivery of a new Roadmaster Velocity Patching machine which will assist with road maintenance around the county. This velocity patcher will be deployed across county Kildare’s Road network and facilitates a comprehensive and modern approach to road maintenance. The velocity patcher is a one-person operated machine that delivers a computer calibrated mixture of aggregate and bitumen binder directly into a pothole or road defect under high velocity, ensuring a cost effective, reliable solution to problematic road maintenance issues.

Niall McElwaine, Clonmel Enterprises Limited said; “We are delighted to have constructed the Machinery Yard & Regional Salt Barn for Kildare County Council and wish to thank them, their design team, our own construction team, sub-contractors and suppliers for all their work on the project. Hopefully the superb facility will be a great asset to Kildare County Council and serve their Roads and Maintenance Sections very well, long into the future.”