IT has been a busy start to the winter period at Clare County Council’s maintenance facilities, with 673.5 tonnes of rock salt and 147,000 litres of brine used to date in road treatment operations.
The local authority’s fleet of seven salt and brine spreader trucks treated 673 kilometres of road on 14 separate days in recent weeks.
Clare County Council says it has ample supplies of rock salt to treat the county’s regional and national roads during the remainder of winter. Two thousand tonnes of rock salt are currently in storage at the local authority’s depot facility at Beechpark, while an additional 1,000 tonnes are due to be delivered during the next week.
Meanwhile, the council is reminding members of the public of the importance of being prepared during the winter season, which brings with it an increased threat of severe weather, including snow, ice, damaging winds and flooding.
The call follows the launch this week by Government of the Winter-Ready Information Campaign 2016-2017.
Anne Haugh, director of services, said, “The key messages being delivered by the winter-ready campaign are that people should be prepared, know how to stay safe and know where to find help if needed.
“Information hosted on www.clarecoco.ie and www.winterready.ie includes advice for householders, motorists, pedestrians, schools, the farming and business communities on what to do when severe weather occurs. There is also plenty of very useful advice for motorists about how to ensure your vehicle is winter-ready, as well as tips for motoring in snow, ice, high winds, floods and fog,” added Ms Haugh.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.