Salt and grit can be brought to people on back roads and housing estates

Donegal County Council will bring salt to local streets and roads if residents buy a coal bunker for storage.

Mark Sweeney of Donegal County Council Roads Department was addressing concerns expressed by councillors about the slippery conditions on back roads.

At the December meeting of the Municipal District (MD) of Donegal, councillors had asked if particular roads could be added to the gritting plan. They had all received numerous calls about roads in streets across the MD being treacherous.

Cathoairleach of Donegal MD Cllr Niamh Kennedy praised the gritting team. 

She added: “What I would like to do early in the new year is to have a workshop of all the areas we have all had calls about, to see what areas we need to get salt out to if we are to be best prepared for the next cold snap.”

Mr Sweeney who is Area Road Officer for the MD said: “I think the suggestion for a workshop is great. We have everything topped up but there are new areas starting to appear.”

He explained that there were measures in place already to support people on housing estates and back roads. Piles of grit could be delivered and topped up where there were steep hills.

And salt could be brought to areas where it was needed if there was suitable storage in place. 

“Housing estates, if they have a residents’ association, the policy is that if they buy a bunker we will fill it and keep it topped up,” said Mr Sweeney.

“You need the coal bunker because you couldn’t leave the salt out in the open or it would dissolve.”

Regarding queries about adding roads to current gritting routes, the roads officer outlined why this could not be done.

He began by commending the gritter drivers, saying: “There are a lot of runs done by the team, late and night and into the early hours, and the next crew starting in early morning. Sometimes they have to go out three or fours times a night to keep the roads safe. If they finish a route and it starts to rain, they have to go straight back out again.”

Mr Sweeney explained that the reason lorries could not leave the main routes was due to the risk of one sliding off the road. 

“The drivers are working under difficult conditions to keep everyone safe,” he said. 

“We have lost gritters before from them sliding down hills. The grit comes out the back of the lorry; there is no protection for the lorry itself. 

“If a lorry went off a back road we would have a lot of bother trying to get the main routes done.”

Mr Sweeney did however say that there were exceptions. 

“If there is an emergency like a wake or a funeral, we will do our best to facilitate that,” he said. 

Donegal County Council can be contacted by emailing info@donegalcoco.ie or calling 074 91 53900.