THE SALLY GAP in Wicklow is closed due to “treacherous conditions” today with motorists being advised to avoid the area. 

AA Roadwatch has said that both roads through the Sally Gap remain closed at this time and that Gardaí are advising people not to travel through the area. 

Yesterday, Dublin & Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team and Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue Team assisted a number of vehicles on upland roads in Wicklow amid ongoing wintry conditions. 

The incidents occurred on the R759 and R115 that cross the Sally Gap and the L2083 between Laragh and Glenmalure.

Mountain Rescue personnel evacuated 13 people from a stranded bus yesterday and later evacuated people from multiple vehicles that became stranded on the R759 and R115.

“Road conditions on untreated upland roads in Wicklow are currently extremely hazardous, with widespread sheet ice,” Dublin & Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team said in a statement today. 

“To complicate matters, there is very little snow on the ground meaning snow chains are of limited use.

“Both mountain rescue teams ask – echoing the advice of An Garda Síochána and Wicklow County Council – that people avoid untreated upland roads in Wicklow at the moment.

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“Daytime temperatures in upland Wicklow will remain close to freezing until Wednesday 18 December when milder weather is forecast,” it said.

Much of the R759 and R115 are above an altitude of 400 metres meaning that even when road conditions are clear elsewhere, the group said, “these roads can still be extremely difficult to drive safely.”

The AA, meanwhile, said that ice is beginning to thaw on Deputys Pass in Glenealy but that continued caution by motorists is advised.