asked the Minister for Local Government if he will state whether a better method for the repair of county roads cannot be devised than the covering of the surface with loose river gravel or pit gravel, all of which is washed off in mud during rainy weather or blown off by the wind in dry weather, and whether repair by such means forms a danger to road users and involves a total loss of public money.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Repair of County Roads.
The best method of repair of a county road depends on such factors as the nature of the foundation, the weight and type of traffic, the type of materials available and so on. The greater part of the county road mileage is still maintained by the spreading of broken stone and gravel, which is left for the traffic to bind in. This method is neither useless nor uneconomic in the case of county roads, which still mainly take horse traffic, but where considerable motor traffic is involved, the best method to deal with the problem is to steamroll and tar the roads in question. The county road improvement grant is now making a steady annual contribution towards this work, but county councils are urged to supplement the grant out of their own resources.