Council well-stocked with winter salt

Tipperary Co Council has a stock of around 2,700 tonnes of salt to deal with icy road conditions in the county this winter.

The winter maintenance period lasts from mid October to the end of April each year. The council says it is constantly striving to improve its winter maintenance service. It points out that neither the local authority nor Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) (formerly the NRA) has a statutory obligation to pre-salt roads. The aim, however, is to keep priority roads safe and as free as possible from wintry hazards.

 

Having regard to the council’s resources in terms of finance, equipment and staffing levels, and to maximise benefit to road users, winter maintenance of roads in Tipperary is prioritised on the following basis: Priority 1: M7 motorway, M8 motorway, national roads, and regional roads of strategic importance, for example expressway bus routes, access to train and bus depots, hospitals, ambulance routes, and fire stations; Priority 2: Regional Roads with high volume of traffic using the road and access to major schools and industries; Priority 3: Other regional roads, town streets and local county roads on a priority basis.

 

In extreme weather events, Priority 1 routes will take precedence over Priority 2 routes in terms of allocation of available resources. The council has three salt storage barns with a total capacity of approximately 2,700 tonnes, which is sufficient to treat a five-day snow event.

 

Eleven crews are rostered to pre-salt Priority 1 and Priority 2 Routes (approximately 1,010km) before the onset of icy conditions. These spreaders can have snowblades fitted in the event of snow.

 

It is common for a variance in road temperatures to occur across the county, which may result in only some of the routes being pre-treated on any particular night. In the event of dangerous road conditions, i.e. black ice, white frost, snow, flooding, muck, or any other hazardous road condition, the responsibility is on the driver to drive at an appropriate speed with due care in accordance with prevailing conditions on the road. The council advises that it is not responsible for any accidents that may occur as a result of poor driving conditions.

 

A map detailing the winter maintenance salting routes in Tipperary is available on the council's website.