From January to March over £18M has been invested in the North West Trunk Road network on behalf of Transport Scotland, with schemes being promoted across the Planned Maintenance, Minor Improvements, Bridge, Road Lighting, Active Travel & Road Safety Teams. Despite particularly poor weather, good progress has been made on many projects.
On the A9 North of Kessock, a £280,000 Active Travel scheme is currently under construction, with completion due late March/early April. The scheme will create new and improved central reservation crossing points, new road lighting and a safety barrier system.
On the A82 between Balloch and Tarbet, a £65,000 road safety scheme is currently under construction to install new solar powered bollards at minor road junctions. The A9 between Perth to Inverness has also received significant road safety investment, with £30,000 invested in a signing improvement scheme on the A9 at Ralia Junction. Other road safety schemes on the A9 of note include (i) the A9 Ballinluig southbound exit slip – upgrade of existing signing, resurfacing and installation of signing on splitter island, (ii) A9 Pitlochry northbound exit-slip, new crash cushion and bike-friendly safety barrier, and (iii) A9 Munlochy Junction street lighting works and power supply to a vehicle activated sign on the northbound carriageway. Other road safety schemes of note include a £30,000 signing scheme on the A83 at Cairndow Junctions and a £30,000 signing scheme on the A86 at Inverroy. These types of project help drivers read the road ahead and help to reduce the likelihood of road traffic collisions.
On the A9 at Dulnain, a £110,000 bridge deck refurbishment and joint replacement scheme was completed in February. To ensure the full lifespan of the new joint, the surfacing was replaced on a section of the bridge deck. Once the deck was exposed, concrete repairs were carried out prior to new spray applied waterproofing, new kerbing, and surfacing works being undertaken. Works also continued on the A828 Connel Bridge to install sections of the cantilevered walkway to the east side of the bridge. Work is progressing well on site. The works are programmed to be complete by summer time. The walkway will provide an immediate benefit to pedestrians and cyclists but will be especially useful during future deck replacement works.
Work started in January and continued throughout February on four of the swing bridges on the A82 and A830 that cross the Caledonian Canal at Banavie, Fort Augustus, Laggan and Aberchalder. The canal is closed for the winter therefore the opportunity is being taken to carry out a series of mechanical and electrical upgrades, including new hydraulic power units and support wheels. Most of the work was carried out while traffic continues to flow, but some work requires the bridges to be swung or jacked-up and therefore had to be closed for a number of nights during February.
A number of sections of road have been resurfaced following deterioration through the winter at a total cost of around £3.6m:
The Minor Improvements team continue with the programme of works for the A83 Rest and Be Thankful (RABT) forming a large catchpit at the location of the major landslides in 2020.
Safety fence replacement on the A82 north of Tyndrum has been completed allowing the temporary traffic signals, which have been in place following a failure in the embankment, to be removed.
Eddie Ross, BEAR Scotland’s North West Representative, said: “We remain committed to ensuring trunk roads across the North West of Scotland are maintained to the highest of standards. It has been a busy period and winter has proved challenging, in terms of both scheme and winter service delivery. Our teams have worked hard to keep the roads clear as well as complete a variety of schemes ranging from bridge improvements, maintenance works and road safety upgrades”.
“We would like to thank all road users and the local communities for their continued patience during the roadworks. We understand some frustrations can arise; however, we carefully plan projects with a view to minimising disruption as much as possible.”
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