A number of Kerry County Councillors have called for a busy stretch of the Ring of Kerry to be prioritised for salting during icy weather.
At the recent Kenmare Municipal District meeting, several councillors raised the issue of salting and gritting the stretch of the N70 between Coom a Ciste and Kelly’s Cross.
Cllr Patrick Connor-Scarteen called on the council to work with Transport Infrastructure Ireland to ensure the whole Ring of Kerry is salted when conditions are deemed cold and frosty.
Cllrs Dan McCarthy and Norma Moriarty also called for the stretch between Coom a Ciste and Kelly’s Cross to be included on the gritting programme for the county.
In the reply given to all three councillors, Kerry County Council stated that the council’s winter service plan lists roads into three categories of priorities.
This stretch of the N70 is currently a priority three road, which means that is not treated as part of the normal winter service operation, but may receive intermittent treatment during certain severe weather events.
Cllr Connor-Scarteen replied that it’s ridiculous that this stretch is a priority three road, while Cllr Moriarty said this categorisation is simply wrong.
Cllr Dan McCarthy added the TII should take into account the height and amount of sunlight of these roads into account if it doesn’t already.
Kerry County Council added there are funding constraints from the TII, and so adding roads to the priority one category is not as simple as adding it to a list.
It also says there is significant science that goes into determining the categories.
