This article is from page 12 of the 2011-09-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
CLARE County Council is making preparations for another winter freeze with an estimated 3,500 tonnes of salt to be available for the county’s road network. That capacity could increase to 9,000 tonnes in the coming years if plans for a new salt depot run by the National Roads Authority (NRA) prove successful, it emerged yesterday.
The details are contained in a report on the Council’s winter maintenance programme, which was outlined at yesterday’s meeting of councillors in the Ennis Electoral Area.
Senior Engineer Tom Tiernan told the meeting that there is currently 600 tonnes of salt in the county but that will increase to 3,500 over the coming months with the “significant expansion” of facilities at the Beechpark depot. He said the Council would aim to cover 706km of road throughout the county.
Mr Tiernan said he was confident that there would be adequate capacity at Beechpark to cater for a “very severe weather” conditions.
The meeting heard that the Council has spent € 1.1m of its own resources on winter maintenance over the past two years. “We have had to spend a huge amount of money for maintenance that we hadn’t really bargained for”, explained Mr Tiernan.
Mr Tiernan also told councillors that responsibility for maintenance of the country’s motorway network will be transferred to the NRA over the next two years.
He also revealed that the NRA intends to seek planning permission for the development of a salt storage dept on the outskirts of Ennis.
The depot, which will have capacity for 6,500 tonnes of salt, is proposed for the Tulla Road interchange near a section of the M18 motorway.
Questioning the need for the NRA facility, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) said Clare could end up with a total of 9,000 tonnes of salt. Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) urged the Council to purchase a smaller salting vehicle to be used in housing estates in Ennis and surrounding areas. Cllr Brennan was also critical of the NRA’s plans, saying they represented a duplication of services.
Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) also expressed concern over the depot. He said the site was in the ownership of Clare County Council and could be used a potential site for a new secondary school to cater for the estimated population of 7000 living in the Doora area.
Mr Tiernan explained that the site is an area of surplus land left over from work on the Ennis bypass. He said that while the site was registered to the Council, it had been purchased by the NRA.