Roads danger amid big freeze
Tuesday January 05 2010
Motorists continued to face treacherous conditions as local authorities battled to maintain salt and grit supplies to keep roads clear.
Up to five centimetres of snow is forecast for parts of Connacht and Ulster, already hit by ice after wintry showers and a severe overnight freeze.
Met Eireann said a weather warning remained in place with bitterly cold temperatures expected to linger throughout Tuesday.
Local authorities across the country are battling to keep main roads clear as councils ordered fresh supplies from ports nationwide.
Some 11,000 tonnes of salt was being shipped in this week in the hope of easing the transport nightmare and making secondary roads safe for motorists.
Fine Gael's Joe McHugh called on Green Environment Minister John Gormley to instead allow councils to use sand from beaches.
"Removing sand from beaches where it will have a limited environmental impact makes complete sense in the current extreme weather conditions which have rendered many of Ireland's roads impassable," the Donegal TD said.
Elsewhere, in a worrying twist, gardai in Donegal warned against people driving on frozen lakes after people on quad bikes and small cars were seen skidding across Trusk Lough and Lough Mourne with no idea how thick or strong the ice was.
The Road Safety Authority (RSA) repeated warnings about the treacherous driving conditions, pleading with drivers to keep safe distances.
Met Eireann said a weather warning remained in place with bitterly cold temperatures expected On Tuesday night and fresh snowfalls on Wednesday morning.
Press Association
