Kildare County Council says it does consider salting road routes outside the main ten routes
Over €700,000 spent on treating icy roads
Kildare County Council spreads salt on ten major road routes in ice and snow conditions but in times of severe weather it may treat locations outside of the primary routes, generally following requests from public, elected members and local communities, a public meeting has been told.
At the January 25 meeting of the council Cllr Aoife Breslin asked for an outline of its winter preparation for the county including salting routes for the area and if they have or will consult with local community groups in preparation for such events.
Members were told by the roads department that the objective of the Winter Maintenance Plan is to keep “all principal roads” in the county open to traffic and free from ice, providing safe travel for users. The season operated from mid-October to end of April, approximately 200 days.
Following a review of the Council’s Winter Maintenance Plan in 2018/2019, Kildare County Council increased its salting programme, effective from Spring 2019, adding an additional 70km to the routes, increasing from nine salting routes to ten.
It said a total of 680km is treated, representing 27% of Kildare road network with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) providing salting services to 143km of Road (National Primary Roads), a combined total of 31% road network being treated. The plan is reviewed annually, with the latest amendments affecting the 2019/2020 season.
The plan sets out what routes are treated on a nightly basis, sometimes two runs are required on a night, typically 11.00pm and 4.00am. In severe weather, this is extended to include daytime operations. Covering 10 salting routes requires 25 personnel minimum to ensure an efficient service, plant availability and appropriate budget.
The council provides a budget of €690,000 to the Winter Maintenance Plan with giving TII of €35,000 extra.
Regarding non primary routes, it said: “In times of Severe Weather, similar to March 2018, winter maintenance activities are extended to include daytime operations and at times Kildare County Council do respond to treat other locations outside of the primary routes in the Winter Maintenance plan. This is done generally following requests from public, elected members and local communities.” More information on the routes is available on the council’s website. Link to Route Map:
http://kildare.ie/CountyCouncil/AllServices/Roads/WinterMaintenancePlan/KCC%20S alting%20Route%20Map.pdf
Link to Winter Maintenance Plan:
http://kildare.ie/CountyCouncil/AllServices/Roads/WinterMaintenancePlan/Kildare%20 County%20Council%20Winter%20Services%20Plan%202020%20to%202021.pdf