Skye and Raasay Area Committee approves prioritised roads capital programme

Members of the Skye and Raasay Area Committee today (Monday 12 February) agreed a list of prioritised programme of works for structural overlay/inlay works and surface dressing schemes which will be funded out of the Capital Budget allocation for 2024/25.

The actual 2024/25 capital roads budget allocation for Skye and Raasay is still to be finalised but based on previous financial years and analysis of road condition survey results it is expected to be £516,353 in total, consisting of £296,341 for overlay/inlay works and £220,012 towards surface dressing schemes.

Skye and Raasay Area Committee Chair, Cllr John Finlayson said: “It is important that as a Committee, we take every opportunity to communicate the real scale of the financial challenges before us. We know the roads budget falls short of the funding needed to do everything we want with the added challenges being faced with regard to the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit Skye annually,  but by agreeing the capital roads’ priorities for 2024/25 it helps raise awareness of what requires to be prioritised based on the road condition survey results and with the funding available, it also allows forward planning for the roads team who work tirelessly and resourcefully to do the best they can with the resources available.”

Cllr Finlayson added: “On behalf of the Committee I would like to thank our roads operations teams who have been working tirelessly during the recent challenging adverse weather conditions to clear the snow, ice, and debris from our roads. They have been committed to keeping communities connected and worked hard to keep our routes open.”

Works for the Skye and Raasay area are identified based on a prioritised ranking.  The ranking is informed by:

• Scottish Road Maintenance Condition Survey (SRMCS) data;
• safety inspections;
• service inspections; and
• input and feedback from Ward Members

The list of prioritised projects approved along with the report presented to the committee is available from the Council’s website - (Item 6)

Should the approved 2024/25 budget differ from previous budgets then the programme will be adjusted appropriately.