Public meeting for proposed A890 road improvements
The public are being invited to come along to a drop-in exhibition in Lochcarron on Thursday 2 June to find out more about The Highland Council’s proposals to carry out improvements to a 6 km section of the A890.
The A890 route links the A87 at Auchtertyre to the A832 at Achnasheen and is part of the route which links Inverness and the east coast to Wester Ross and Skye. Over the years sections of the road have been upgraded in a number of phases to single carriageway standard and this is one of the remaining sections of single track.
The area of road involved is to the east of Lochcarron, between the township of Balnacra and just beyond the railway bridge at Lair. The Council’s proposal is to move the route of the road, in this section, to the north of the Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh railway line.
Chair of the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Committee and Councillor for Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh, Audrey Sinclair said: “Work actually started on the design for this section of road back in 2008 when a route options appraisal was undertaken. After public consultation the route north of the railway line came out as the preferred option but the scheme was dropped from the Capital Programme in 2010. However last November we were able to approve the recommencement of the improvements and I was delighted that the plans could be developed. I hope as many people as possible take the opportunity to come along to the public drop-in exhibition in Lochcarron on 2 June to examine the plans.”
The public exhibition, which takes place from 2pm to 6pm, will be in the small hall of Lochcarron Village Hall and as well as having plan drawings and maps on display, council staff will be on hand to discuss the proposals and gather feedback from the local community. Anyone unable to come along can still pass on their comments by contacting the Council’s Principal Engineer Garry Smith via post to The Highland Council, Project Design Unit, D&I, Drummuie, Golspie, Sutherland, KW10 6TA or e-mail garry.smith@highland.gov.uk
There will also be a further opportunity to comment on the scheme when an application for Planning Consent is made.