With the winter season upon us, Mayo County Council is urging drivers to always drive to the prevailing weather conditions in order to keep safe on the roads throughout the county.
Gritters are geared up for call-outs for the winter season and the council's salt barns have been filled to capacity ahead of this winter. Mayo County Council delivers an annual winter maintenance service seven days a week throughout the season, which runs from October 15 until April 30 each year.
Precautionary gritting is normally done late in the evening, before the coldest temperatures arrive. Consideration is made not to send gritters out too early, especially if rain is also forecast, which could wash salt away. TII procures bureau weather services to assist Mayo County Council in predicting when frost, ice or snow may occur on the road network. These services are currently provided by a combination of Met Éireann and Vaisala.
Over 60 council staff are involved in the provision of the winter service during normal winter weather including Winter service manager, duty engineers, district engineers, and winter service operatives. This number is increased during severe weather as resources allow.
Mr Paul Dolan head of roads, said: "Keeping the roads safe during winter is both a science and an art. Our carefully planned gritting routes cover 1,075 km of road across 23 treatment routes which equates to 100 per cent of the national primary network, 100% of the national secondary network, 82% of regional roads and 3% of the local road network.
"We monitor and analyse a range of forecasts so roads are treated when the salt will be most effective. Salt lowers the freezing temperature of water, making ice less likely to form, so we have to carry out precautionary gritting before any ice. We then undertake reactive gritting as needed in response to accumulations of snow and ice during severe wintry weather.
"Even with the most careful and thorough planning, the use of special Met Office forecasts and the latest ice prediction technology, winter service is really a battle against the elements and ice-free roads cannot be guaranteed. Motorists have to play their part by taking extra care during wintry conditions. The best advice is in the rules of the road – drive with care even if roads have been salted, be prepared for road conditions changing over short distances and take care when overtaking gritters.”
To learn more about what happens behind the scenes as the County council prepares for winter, Mayo County Council are advising people to visit http://www.mayococo.ie/en/Services/WinterReady/. The site aims to get people talking about how science and data can be used to overcome the challenges of winter. For information on the winter maintenance service in Co Mayo, including maps of gritting routes, visit Mayo County council’s website at www.mayococo.ie
