VIDEO: Council spread over 1,000 tonnes of salt in the last week to keep roads ice free
Meath Co Council has spread over 1,000 tonnes of salt over the last week, with gritters doing double runs as ther sub zero conditions linger over the county.
"For the last eight nights (and including tonight) we’ve been doing double runs of the network, these times vary depending upon the weather forecast and ice prediction, so for example we salted yesterday at 6pm and 4am this morning, the previous 24 hours the gritters went out at 4pm and 2am," says Caroline Corrigan, Senior Engineer - Transportation with Meath Co Council.
The duty engineer keeps a regular check on the forecasts and models and updates drivers accordingly, says Ms Corrigan who adds that communication is key.
"The duty engineer texts all drivers; operations engineers and senior management are included on this, each driver must respond confirming they received the text and are reporting for duty, numerous texts can be sent daily to reflect changing weather data.
"To date, since November 18th, we have completed 18 runs over 12 nights, our average number of runs is 70 and last year we completed 52.
"Our engineers also attend National Emergency Coordination Group meetings, this week these occurred on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and we are reactive if conditions worsen.
"There is a huge amount of preparedness for gritting, regular maintenance is carried out on trucks and gritters, H&S training for drivers, etc. Once we know we may have to salt, the trucks are taken out of regular works and the gritters hooked up ready to go.
"Winter maintenance has an impact on regular and routine work, as the drivers must have adequate rest periods, additionally the trucks are needed to replenish salt supplies during the day.
There are no issues with salt supply given the additional demand, with the double runs approximately 1000 tonnes of salt was required over the last week, stocks are replenished regularly and we have hauliers on standby if demands increase."
In order to ensure we can deliver the winter maintenance as per the plan we have one truck and multiple drivers on standby to cover vehicle breakdowns and driver illness, each route has a driver, backup driver 1 and backup driver 2. Also our mechanic is on duty to fix minor issues with the trucks or gritters.
Winter maintenance routes are detailed here.
Ms Corrigan says that the service remains very reactive to forecasted weather and ice conditions which can change at short notice, but a huge amount of work goes into being prepared and ready to fulfil the service safely.
"Our drivers understand the responsibility in delivering this service and are dedicated to carrying out their duties safely and efficiently. While people are asleep in bed our crews are busy salting 800km (or now 1600km) of roads in Meath."
A widespread sharp to severe frost will form tonight with temperatures widely falling to between -5 to -8 degrees inland, with lows of -1 to -3 in coastal counties. Freezing fog patches will bring hazardous driving conditions to some parts. Many areas will be dry and clear, with the chance of a wintry shower along the north coast. Light winds, southerly or variable.
TOMORROW - Friday 16th December
Freezing fog patches tomorrow morning will slowly clear. Otherwise it will be a largely dry and sunny morning, with showers developing in the northwest. Showers will turn heavier and more widespread through the afternoon and evening, with the chance of small hail or isolated lightning near northwest coasts. Showers will mainly be of rain, turning more wintry in the evening with some snowfalls possible in Ulster. Afternoon temperatures of 0 to +4 degrees, a little milder along the coast. Light or moderate southwest winds.