Tributes to gritting crews as cold snap bites
Mayo County Council has to grit one of the largest road networks in the country each winter.
As the first cold snap of winter took hold last week, tributes were paid to outdoor staff from Mayo County Council who are "the first responders" during bad weather.
More than 1,000km of roads in Mayo will be gritted by the local authority this winter, according to the council's Head of Roads Conrad Harley, who presented the Winter Service Plan to members of Roads and Sustainable Travel Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) in December.
Mr Harley explained that the plan remains the same as last year, when 21 routes were gritted with over 1,397km covered each time.
“It is an extremely expensive activity. We do exact precise routes every time so the public can be assured the same roads are always gritted.”
He noted that some judgement calls need to be made on nights where frost warnings are in place. He detailed a new type of gritting process started last year “where we add in a brine solution as the salt is coming out of the back of the truck, making the grit sticky so that more stays on the road and this proved very successful”. He said the grit and brine supply is available in the council’s depots in Castlebar and Claremorris, with plans to roll it out across the whole county in time.
Mr Harley paid tribute to all the council workers who “go out overnight and travel in some particularly difficult situations to do the gritting”, adding: “These are Mayo County Council staff who get out of their bed at 3am or 4am in the morning and they deserve credit for keeping the county open.”
Independent Cllr Patsy O’Brien said the gritting crews were “the first responders in assuring public safety”, while Director of Services Tom Gilligan said he wanted to thank all crews and staff involved in the whole winter programme, adding: “It is not only about protecting life but also enabling economic activity throughout the county. Mayo County Council does an awful lot of gritting, we have one of the largest road networks in the country stretching over 6,500km so it is not possible to cover all roads but we will maximise the output.”
Chairperson of the SPC Cllr Annie May Reape also paid tribute to the council staff who are “out in all kinds of weather putting their lives at risk while we are comfortable at home".
