Council insists Cork is ready for harsh winter

A senior Cork County Council official insists the local authority is fully prepared to handle a severe winter — more so than two years ago.

The council is currently stockpiling salt and hopes to have a full capacity of 6,000 tonnes in place before any cold snap materialises.

It has also added to its fleet of snow ploughs, with a total of 16.

Tim Stritch, director of service for roads, said that since the last severe winter the local authority had built new salt storage barns in Ballincollig and Skibbereen, to complement a facility already in place in Mallow.

“We are also starting to build another barn in Glanmire, which should be completed by the end of January,” Mr Stritch said.

He said, in the event of a big freeze, the council could also supplement its stockpile from NRA resources and maintained, therefore, it was in “a comfortable position” compared to two years ago when salt had to be brought in after the cold snap struck.

In addition, communities will be able to get grit from more than 270 depots around the county which are listed on the council’s own website.

“Our target is to keep all national roads in the county ice-free 24/7. However, there is a duty of care for the motorist as it’s always possible that a shower of rain will come after we salt a road and wash the salt away,” Mr Stritch said.

The second priority is to keep the busiest regional roads with linkages to other counties open as well.

Second priority is also given to orbital routes near the city, he said.

Third priority will be for roads linking towns to villages.

The council will have 16 snow ploughs at its disposal, six more than in 2010.

It has also purchased additional salting machines which can be fitted to its trucks.

Mr Stritch emphasised the council will shortly be deploying the new SmartAlerter system which will provide texts to people advising of severe weather warnings.

“People should familiarise themselves with advice on our website at www.corkcoco.ie,” Mr Stritch said.

On the website under the heading “Severe Weather” are a number of pieces of useful information.

They include maps of the county showing the three priority types of road for salting.

There is also a list of the 270-plus council sites where grit is available.

In addition, there are safety tips for drivers and pedestrians and contact details for council offices in case of an emergency.