Motorists warned to watch out for potholes
ACCIDENT and Emergency staff at the Mid Western Regional Hospital’s saw a spike in admissions on Christmas Day, with 55 fractures reported in a 24 hour period.
A HSE spokesperson confirmed that, two weeks into the cold snap- the most severe in over 30 years- people continued to present themselves with sprains and fractures at A&E, and warn the public to be extra vigilant. Meanwhile, there was a spate of minor accidents on the Limerick-Bunratty road this week.
HSE have issued a number of guidelines to pedestrians.
They advise older people to limit their walking and if they do need to walk, to wear shoes with non-slip soles. Elderly people are asked to wear personal alarms in case of a fall, and if they do suffer a mishap, to consult a doctor.
Limerick City and County Councils have had to prioritise gritting of roads due to limited resources.
However, as a result of the severe frost and wintery conditions, potholes have surfaced on many roads causing damage to tyres and wheels.
One lady motorist told the Limerick Post that two tyres fell victim of a large pothole on the Dock Road, and another experienced a similar problem on the N18.
Although the city council have a sufficient supply of salt, the county council are depending on the continued delivery of stocks to grit 200km of national roads.
A spokesperson said: “Conditions were improving throughout the county until a further period of snowfall on Monday. We have sufficient supplies of salt to treat national roads and regional roads but secondary roads are still in a poor condition”.
They have received stocks of salt this week from Cork and Northern Ireland and a further shipment of 4,000 tonnes is expected to arrive in Limerick inside a few days.
City council acquired the services of an extra vehicle to grit roads.
Said executive engineer, Thomas Kelly:
“We have had to prioritise our response because we do not have the resources to get to all the estates. We have taken a phased approach to gritting the network. Main routes are given priority, followed by bus routes and then pedestrianised areas and footpaths”.
A total of 13 vehicles are in operation throughout the city and county gritting road surfaces from 5am on Tuesday.
Mr Kelly said that additional staff were drafted in from other departments to help grit footpaths.
“We have four crews who are gritting the footpaths on the bridges, the main shopping areas and all main footpath routes into the city”.
Gardaí warn people not to make unnecessary journeys.
Sergeant Peter Kelly of Henry Street Traffic Corps, advises to avoid driving, if possible.
“We have loads of minor accidents on the N18 from Limerick to Bunratty and there have also been collisions in the city centre on Henry Street and Glentworth Street”.
There was a five car pile-up on the N18 from Limerick to Shannon and at one point, there is believed to have been eight cars in ditches along this route.
