Traffic Delays on Kessock Bridge 14 January 2013

The Highland Council has written to the Chief Executive of Transport Scotland David Middleton seeking assurances there will be no repeat of the traffic chaos on the Kessock Bridge on Monday 14 January caused by the unplanned closure of one lane of the southbound carriageway.

Council Leader Drew Hendry and Chair of TEC Services Graham Phillips have echoed the feelings of thousands of travellers who were seriously inconvenienced by the peak morning rush hour delays.

They wrote: “We are sure you will be aware of the very significant traffic delays which resulted from the roadworks on the approaches to the Kessock overrunning into the morning traffic peak and resulted in five mile tailbacks on the A9 to the north of Inverness.

“We have received numerous complaints from both the business community and individuals who were caught up in these delays which came without any advance warning.

“While we appreciate that a significant amount of work has gone into designing the mitigation measures to help alleviate the predicted traffic congestion during the works on the Kessock Bridge, the lack of effective planning and information to the travelling public during this particular element of the advance works has resulted in huge disruption to the travelling public, and there are now genuine concerns that this level of disruption may be repeated during the main contract on the Kessock Bridge.

“The Council has worked in partnership with Transport Scotland and Scotland Transerv in helping to identify mitigation measures to reduce traffic congestion during the works on the Kessock Bridge, and it would be a great pity if the good work undertaken to date was undermined by the events which we experienced on Monday 14 January.

“There is work to be done to restore the public’s confidence, and reassure the public that everything possible has been done, and will be put in place, to reduce traffic congestion before the main works start on the Kessock Bridge, and I would seek your assurance on that point.

“We would also ask that Transport Scotland recognises that mistakes were made on Monday and apologise to the people and businesses which were affected.”