Public Engagement over Inverness Trunk Link Road Route
The public is being encouraged to have their say on proposals for routing the Eastern/Inshes Section of the proposed Inverness Trunk Link Road, which will link the A96 at Smithton Junction and the A9, linking back on to the Southern Distributor to the west of Inshes Roundabout. A presentation of the options will be given at a joint meeting of the Council’s Culloden and Ardersier Ward Forum, Millburn Ward Forum and the Inverness South Ward Forum on Tuesday 13 May at 7.30 pm at Inshes Church of Scotland.
Inshes Church will also be the venue for a public exhibition of plans for the trunk link route, which will be held between noon – 8 pm on both Wednesday 14 May and Thursday 15 May when the public will be asked for their comments on the Eastern / Inshes section. Representatives of The Highland Council and the Council’s consultants Scott Wilson will be in attendance to explain the proposals.
Members of the public will be asked to comment on two alternative alignments under consideration for the new road at Inshes Retail Park. A northern route (JPG 95Kb) would see the road join the Southern Distributor Road west of the Inshes Roundabout by taking a route which would require the relocation of part of the Inshes Shopping Outlet, including the Tesco store. A southern route (JPG 96Kb) would join the Southern Distributor Road at the Dellness Roundabout and would require the relocation of the Inshes Church of Scotland.
William Gilfillan, the Council’s Corporate Manager for Inverness, Nairn and Badenoch and Strathspey, who will chair the joint ward forum meeting, said the Council was eager to hear the views of the public on the options for taking traffic from the A96 at Smithton to the Trunk Link Road at Inshes (near the new primary school at Inshes) to ease congestion in the city centre.
He said: “The Council has decided the route of the Western section of the road via a fixed link involving construction of a bridge over the River Ness and a tunnel/aqueduct passing under the canal. We have yet to decide the route for the Eastern section through Inshes Retail Park, which will be the first phase of the project. We are finalising options for this section and will unveil the main proposals at our joint ward forums’ meeting. We want to hear the views of the public at the ward forum meeting and at the exhibition and their comments will be taken on board when a recommendation is presented to the Council in the autumn. We are also working with all developers and landowners in the area to take account of their interests in any revised lay out for the retail park.”
The estimated cost of the road, the central plank of the transport master plan for the city, is more than £120 million.