Gritting runs, hill routes and tonnes of rock salt

SOUTH Dublin County Council started their winter roads maintenance programme in mid-October and will continue this until the end of April.

During the 2022-23 season, the local authority deployed 52 gritting runs on all routes, eight gritting runs on hill routes, and 2,500 tonnes of rock salt was deposited on the roads.

There are seven main gritting routes in the county, covering 340km of roads to be treated.

Priority routes are also cited in the programme, which include main distributor roads, essential services (hospital, airport, etc) and food distribution points.

According to the council’s winter maintenance plan, last season would be considered a “mild winter overall” with one significant cold spell in early December that lasted 10 days.

The 2023-24 season started on October 16 and finishes on April 28.

Gritting runs will generally be carried out at 7pm and/or 5am depending on the forecast.

Standard spread rate will be 10g/m2 but increased in the event of extreme low temperature or snow.

Snow ploughs will be available for all routes but snowfalls must be greater than 30mm to be effective.

According to the council’s Winter Service Plan 2023-2024, the responsibility for general and winter maintenance of motorways has been awarded to private contractors employed directly by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).

South Dublin County Council is responsible for carrying out winter maintenance on national, secondary, regional and local roads within the county.

SDCC have 100 salt bins located around the county which enable members of the public to access salt and treat locations that are not included in the standard treatment routes if they deem it necessary.

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