Report demanded on chaos as Mayo dual carriageway froze last weekend
COUNCILLORS want an explanation about why the N5 dual carriageway was 'like a piece of glass' when temperatures dropped last weekend.
Vehicles were sliding on it, yet on the old Westport Road you had a grip, Councillor Michael Kilcoyne told a meeting of Mayo County Council yesterday.
Was the reason to do with the finish, he asked, saying it required investigation and he asked that management would come back with an explanation.
Two councillors - Chris Maxwell and Johnny O'Malley - were among a group travelling by bus to the Mercosur protest in Athlone who ended up stuck on the road for over two hours on Saturday morning. A local agricultural contractor, assisted by a garda escort, came to their rescue, gritting the road and getting them back on their way.
Councillor O'Malley said the surface was more slippery than anything he has ever stood on. They got out but had to hold onto the bus.
He described the situation as 'chaos', with a truck at the side of the road and cars crossways.
Video: Traffic on the N5 last Saturday morning:
Councillor Ger Deere raised issues with the design of the €300 million route - no slow lane, no lay-bys, and when a problem arises the road is closed. Yet the old N5 out of Castlebar and on to Westport remained operational, and they had to seek a full report and learn lessons from what happened on the dual carriageway.
All councillors were thankful to gritting crews who went out in treacherous conditions across the county, having worked all over the Christmas period.
Acting head of roads Conrad Harley explained how six gritters failed to complete routes on Saturday. One truck is badly damaged and gone away for repair.
A second attempt on the N5 failed after the first truck went off, he said, with gritters facing 'extremely challenging' conditions.
On Thursday and Friday nights it was very cold and still raining, just above zero, and then heavy frost came.
Members of the public need to take heed of the actual road conditions, Mr. Harley added. Just because roads are gritted doesn't mean they're clear and we have to drive to the conditions out there.
Councillors requested additional routes be included in the gritting programme, including the Crossmolina-Ballycastle road and also Church Road in Ballina. And Barnacarroll National School and creche is another area that needs attention.
Members were told the programme is at maximum capacity but a pricing would be done for the R312 and R315.
Representatives in the Westport area were concerned that they did not receive gritting piles for communities to treat localised areas. And Councillor Peter Flynn had an issue with communication, saying it had failed. He couldn't get a response from the council office.
It should have been circulated how bad the N5 was and signage put up, he said.
Noting the personal risk that staff take, Councillor Al McDonnell said the gritting machines have a design flaw. They should be able to apply salt from the front so they travel on a treated surface.
*Published under the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.