‘More roads than ever to be gritted’ if cold snap occurs
The council will also prioritise areas where there may be a threat to the economy and jobs.
Tom Stritch, the council’s director of roads services, said the NRA has contracted the salting of all motorways and most dual carriageways to Egis Lagan. As a result, the council will be able to free up more resources to tackle other smaller roads.
The council has uploaded maps to the severe weather site on www.corkcoco.ie detailing three priority types of roads which will be gritted. The roads used most will get priority one status.
A number of routes previously ignored have been given priority three status, which means they will be treated intermittently.
Priority one routes will be treated all the time during bad weather, while those deemed priority two will be treated on nights where widespread ice/frost is anticipated. The website also contains details of stockpiles of grit to be located at depots around the county and which will be made available for community use.
The council has also built a salt barn in Glanmire that it will use itself for treating roads in North and East Cork. It has similar barns in Ballincollig and West Cork.
Mr Stritch said it was important to realise spreading salt on a road doesn’t necessarily mean it is ice-free.
“The primary responsibility for safety rests with the road user even when routes are treated,” he said.
County manager Martin Riordan said the council would also be in a position to call in the Irish Farmers’ Association for help should conditions warrant it.
Mr Riordan told Cllrs Mary Hegarty and John O’Sullivan that where there was a serious threat to economic activity, the council would react, no matter if the local roads concerned were not in its overall plan.
Cllr Aindrias Moynihan said that the main road between Bandon to Macroom, which is often subject to ice, should be elevated from priority three to priority two.
Cllr Tim Collins — who lives in the county’s highest village in Meelin — said it was impossible to get in and out of there during severe icy weather. He urged engineers to ensure grit was brought in now, in advance of any possible cold snap.
