Winter maintenance and salting routes
Clare County Council implements a winter service plan for national primary, national secondary and strategic regional roads. Priority will be given to the national secondary and strategic regional and local routes.
Maps of winter salting routes are provided.
Winter service plan
Clare County Council aims to provide a winter service plan which, as far as reasonably possible, allows the safe movement of vehicular traffic on the more important strategic defined routes of the road network, while minimising delays and accidents directly attributed to adverse weather conditions.
Given the scale of the resources involved in delivering this winter service plan, it is not possible to provide this service to all parts of the road network and it may not be possible to ensure that all routes are kept free of ice or snow at all times on the treated routes in this winter service plan. Clare County Council implements a winter service plan for national primary, national secondary and strategic regional roads. Priority will be given to the national secondary and strategic regional and local routes.
Treatment involves the controlled placement of salt on these scheduled routes in response to forecasted weather conditions as appropriate. An ice detection and prediction system ICENET, in conjunction with thermal mapping linked to weather stations in Crusheen M18, Kilrush N68, Lisdoonvarna N67 and Ogonnelloe R463 facilitates Clare County Council in its decision making process regarding whether or when scheduled routes should be treated.
During the course of a normal Irish winter it is very likely that some severe weather conditions will occur where frost, ice or snow on predetermined roads will require treatment. The duration of the winter maintenance season is normally considered to be six months commencing 16th October, 2023 and ending 30th April, 2024. This six month duration may be broken into a period of high risk when severe conditions might reasonably be expected and a period of low risk when severe conditions are not expected. In general the high risk period is considered to cover the months of December, January and February and the low risk period is considered to cover the months of mid October, November, March and April.
The winter service plan will be reviewed each year by Clare County Council for the following winter maintenance period and will be submitted to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and Department of Transport before the season starts in mid October.
| Route Designation | Description | Level of Service |
| Priority 1 (Plan A) |
Those routes which are essential to be kept serviceable in all weather conditions, as far as reasonably practicable. | To be treated during all weather events |
| Priority 2 (Plan B) |
Those routes which are desirable to be kept serviceable in the normal winter weather conditions, as far as reasonably practicable. | To be treated as part of the normal winter service but may have interruptions to treatment in certain severe weather events or in circumstances where information that suggests risk is minimum. |
| Priority 3 (All other routes outside Plan A and B) |
Those routes that could be kept serviceable once Priority 1 and 2 routes have been treated, if resources, salt and time allow. | Not treated as part of the normal winter service but may receive intermittent treatment during certain severe weather events |
Note: Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) implements a winter service plan for the national primary routes in the county i.e. N18, M18, N19 and on the N85 from Killow Interchange on the M18 to Clareabbey roundabout on the R458.
For further information relating to this service please call
- NRA Network Maintenance Management (0818) 715100
Page last reviewed: 04/12/23
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