Thanks to a £4million investment from Transport Scotland, BEAR Scotland is undertaking essential safety improvements on the A9 Kessock Bridge that crosses the Beauly Firth, north of Inverness. The project involves structural strengthening within all four steel towers, which will ensure that the bridge continues to meet major bridge loading standards in years to come. The works will also see the installation of new anemometers to measure wind speed and aid bridge management during stormy conditions.
Following a review of the programme and working plan with the appointed contractor, additional structural strengthening work has now been included as part of the scheme to ensure the future load carrying capacity of the bridge. This work has been brought forward to enable efficiencies to be realised in future planned works.
Site works started in January 2025, and the estimated scheme completion date is now Autumn 2026.
Due to the nature of the works being undertaken, and to protect pedestrians and cyclists, the west footway/cycleway on the bridge has been closed since January 2025. The footway closure will be switched to the east side of the bridge in December 2025, with a diversion provided to safely direct pedestrians and cyclists to the west footway/cycleway at this point.
Intermittent night-time lane closures will be required for material deliveries, however these will be planned to limit any disruption to bridge users. A reduction in the speed limit to 30mph will also be required over short periods throughout the programme of works. This is to protect workers undertaking works at height on the external faces of the pylons.
At the north end of the bridge at Span 13, an additional £1million project is currently underway to remove the paint coatings and apply a new protective paint system onto the steelwork. The estimated scheme completion for these works is September 2025.
Euan Scott, BEAR Scotland’s North West Representative, said, “These essential works on Kessock Bridge will strengthen the steel structure and upgrade our wind measurement equipment. We will also take the opportunity to improve access and safety inside the towers for our maintenance teams.
“Taking the opportunity to complete additional strengthening works in the coming period will ensure that future works can be carried out more efficiently. We thank all road users and the local community for their patience in advance.
“Please plan ahead by checking the Traffic Scotland website for up-to-date journey information and leave some extra time to complete journeys.”
Real time journey information is available from Traffic Scotland on www.traffic.gov.scot, X @trafficscotland or on the mobile site my.trafficscotland.org.
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