£1 Million Water Mains For Inverness and Foyers
Issued by Scottish Water
Residents of and visitors to the Highland Capital and the Loch Ness-side village of Foyers are set to benefit from massive investment in new water mains to provide more reliable supplies of clear, fresh drinking water.
On top of an £800,000 ongoing programme of improvements in Inverness city centre, Scottish Water today (15 May) announced a further £360,000 of improvements for Ness Walk, Inglis Street, Kinmylies and Foyers.
100 year old cast iron pipes under Ness Walk and Inglis Street are to be replaced, as are plastic pipes dating from the 1970s in the Kinmylies area. Work to replace 1960s cement pipes in Foyers has just been completed.
The investment is part of Scottish Water's 2010 Vision for the Highlands - a £200million programme of improvements throughout the region providing more reliable supplies of clearer, fresher drinking water, enabling development and protecting the environment.
£20million is being invested in the Inverness area alone. Customers can find out more and comment on the improvements by visiting a special website: www.scottishwater.co.uk/highlands2010.
CITY CENTRE IMPROVMENTS ONGOING
Scottish Water's £800,000 investment in Inverness city centre is seeing century-old water mains in areas such as Church Street, Queensgate and Union Street being updated. The work is being carried out by Rok, the contractor delivering Highland Council's £5million Streetscape project to improve the appearance of the city centre.
NESS WALK AND INGLIS STREET
Ness Walk is home to popular hotels and restaurants and Inglis Street is a busy shopping avenue with a number of cafes. Scottish Water has been liaising with local businesses in advance of work starting. The improvements at Ness Walk and Inglis Street are worth a total of approximately £130,000.
Ness Walk - Work is expected to begin on 19 May and be complete by mid-July. To allow safe working, the road will be made one-way with traffic flowing from Ness Bridge towards the cathedral. Motorists who want to park close to the hotels and restaurants will be directed towards alternative spaces nearby.
Inglis Street - Work is expected to begin in July and be complete by the end of August. The work will take place in the centre of the street with pedestrian access maintained in front of the shops.
The work at Ness Walk and Inglis Street is to be carried out by Turriff Contracting as they specialise in gas as well as water. Scotland Gas Networks want to replace a major gas main under Ness Walk. By using Turriff the water main and the gas pipe can be replaced at the same time, minimising disruption.
KINMYLIES AND FOYERS
At Kinmylies a £142,000 pipe replacement project is due to begin at the end of June to avoid causing disruption near Charleston Academy during term time.
And at Foyers an £88,000 upgrade has just been completed. The old cement pipes suffered a number of bursts in recent years, causing supply interruptions to customers. The new pipes, made from tough plastic, are less prone to bursts and will serve the customers well for many years to come.
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