Council reveals plans for winter road maintenance
Temperatures may be warm for this time of year but Mayo County Council has the salt trucks and road grit stockpiles lined up and ready to go.
The council's senior engineer Peter McLoughlin told a recent meeting of the Roads and Sustainable Travel Strategic Policy Committee that a fair amount of preparation has already gone into the 2026 Winter Service Programme.
He outlined that Mayo is divided into priority areas, with gritting carried out routinely along national and secondary primary routes, as well as strategically important regional and local roads.
The programme kicks in once inclement weather conditions occur with salting along routes taking place both at nights and in the morning. Additionally, in severe and prolonged winter weather, stockpiles of grit at strategic locations will be made available for use by the public, as resources allow.
Following Storm Emma in the spring of 2018, salt stocks were increased and the 6,000-tonne salt barn in Castlebar is kept at capacity ever since, with 5,600 tonnes used in 2025.
Reminding people that “a storm can hit anytime”, he recalled how following Storm Emma, the council sent an extra gritter to help deal with the impact on Galway, adding: “We’ve never been in the position where we had to get one sent to Mayo, but it could happen.”
Mr McLoughlin explained that more than 60 council staff are involved in the programme each year, often having to work late into the night, with an amount of council plant and machinery also in play, including diggers, trucks, pick-ups, tractors, in addition to two brine salt trucks. Expenditure is also considerable, with costs amounting to over €1 million for winter 2023/24; €1.3 million in 2024/25; and €947,000 last winter.
Cllr Damien Ryan commented that it would be impossible to treat every road in Mayo, which has a vast road network, adding: “That is why we have a programme and I think everyone accepts that heavy traffic routes and prominent roads will be done.”
Cllr Annie May Reape paid tribute to the council drivers who are out late working at night “when we are in our beds”, adding that people are always very happy when stockpiles of grit are left along the roadside.
Cllr Richard Finn also thanked all council staff “who work to keep us all safe during inclement weather".
Director of Services David Mellett pointed out that Mayo delivers a substantial winter maintenance programme each year compared to other counties, "but we can’t cover the complete road network so it is still down to driver behaviour to be aware".
- Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
