£18m repairs to Kessock Bridge to begin

Date: 18/1/2013

Kessock Bridge, which forms part of the route connecting Inverness to the north of Scotland, is to undergo £18 million worth of repair work starting in February.

The road surface on the bridge is considered to have reached the end of its useful life and works must be done in order to bring this piece of infrastructure up-to-date with modern standards.

More than 30,000 vehicles use the bridge every day and ad-hoc repairs have been disrupting the traffic on the busy route in recent times.

Instead, the whole bridge will be resurfaced between February this year and June 2014, with just two lanes running for some periods while the work is being carried out.

Once the repairs have been completed Transport Scotland is calling for the bridge's speed limit, which currently stands at 70 miles per hour, to be dropped to 50 miles per hour.

Engineers say that the work to be carried out over the next two years will leave the road design non-standard, therefore making a lower speed limit more appropriate.

A representative from Transport Scotland put the argument across at a meeting with the Highland Council's transport, environmental and community services committee, where speed limits across the region were being debated.

He said: "It would appear that the alterations to the Kessock Bridge required to bring it to a safe standard mean that a permanent reduction in the limit will be necessary.

"I look forward to hearing more about this proposal from Transport Scotland once it brings it forward formally."

Transport Scotland is currently making permanent improvements to junctions and roundabouts on the A82 and A9 near to the bridge to ease congestion ahead of the work.

It is encouraging motorists to find alternative ways to travel while the modernising is underway, such as public transport and car sharing.

A spokesman said: "These works are absolutely essential but we are fully aware of the disruption they will cause on this busy route."

Posted by Sarah Bailey

Transport Research News and Vehicle Safety News