Council Welcomes Work On Road To The Isles
The Highland Council has warmly welcomed news that work has started on the fifth and final phase of upgrading of the A830 Mallaig to Lochailort road, known as Road To The Isles.
Councillor John Laing, chairman of the Council’s TEC Services Committee said: “I am delighted that work to upgrade the stretchof the A830 from Arisaig to Loch nam Uamh to two-lane carriageway has began. This route is vital to the economy of the North West Highlands and the improvements will benefit locals and tourists with shorter journey times, benefits to the local economy, and improved safety.
“The Highland Council has run a long and sustained campaign to win these improvements to this lifeline road. Our commitment to see the job completed has kept us focus and I would like to thank everyone involved for their hard work and determination. I would also like to thank the Scottish Executive and politicians at the Scottish Parliament as well as European funding for recognising the importance of our road network in keeping rural communities alive and flourishing.”
Highland Councillor for Ardnamurchan and Fort William, Michael Foxley was councillor for Mallaig and the Small Isles for 10 years from 1986. He said: “This is great news for the area and marks the end of a long campaign by the Council. Retired Mallaig Highland Councillor and community councillor, Charlie King who has played a huge role in pushing for this work particularly over the past 20 years has found newspaper cuttings from 1937 calling for a new road, making the campaign for improvements 70 years old.
“The existing road between Arisaig and Loch nan Uamh is 7.5 kilometres long, and is very tortuous. It is effectively of single track width with passing places. When the work is complete journey times will be improved and local, business, commercial and tourist users of the A830 can expect a significantly improved level of service.”
Highland Council, acting on behalf of Transport Scotland, will have a site based team involved in monitoring the construction works and a specific website will be available to advise on the traffic management details as they affect the travelling public.
The construction costs for the whole scheme is £22.8M and it is anticipated that works will be complete within 18 months. Morrison Construction are the contractors. The project has received £3M of funding from the European Regional Development Fund and also European Transitional Fund assistance.
The scheme is the last in a series of improvements of the 27 kilometre length of the A830 Trunk Road extending from Mallaig to Lochailort undertaken by the trunk road authority between 1987 and 2003.
The construction of this scheme will be technically challenging given the difficult terrain, the proximity to the Fort William to Mallaig railway, and the need to maintain traffic flows along the lengths of the improvement overlying the existing road. The works will involve rock blasting and excavation with haulage of the material to create new road embankments. A significant area of peat has to be excavated and replaced at Carnach. New structures are to be constructed at the Larachmore, Brunery, Borrodale and Beasdale watercourses.