A million pound contract which will see major repairs and improvements to the A82 in the North West Highlands is underway.
Transport Minister Derek Mackay visited the site at Glen Gloy, near Spean Bridge, to mark the beginning of the project, which will remedy the damage done to the riverbank supporting the road by a landslide.
The complex engineering scheme, which will be carried-out by will restore two way traffic on this part of the A82. It will also see three hundred meters of the road realigned and two bends taken away to improve driving conditions.
The work represents further investment in the A82. The £5m Crianlarich Bypass was open to traffic last year, works are underway on the £9.2m Pulpit Rock scheme, which will remove the bottleneck and traffic lights at this location, and a £2m design commission is also progressing on the A82 between Tarbet and Inverarnan.
Transport Minister Derek Mackay said, “The Scottish Government is fully committed to improving the trunk road network to support our economy and this latest investment in the A82 will further improve the transport infrastructure in the North West of Scotland. A great deal of preparation has been done in advance of today and Transport Scotland and its contractors have been working hard to find a way of carrying out this improvement project without having to completely close the road.
“They have achieved that goal and the area will remain open for business during construction, with the A82 back to full running ahead of the Summer tourism season. A huge thanks has to go to the communities along the route for their patience while the investigation work has been on-going to allow us to get to this stage. The project is now in the finishing straight and I look forward to seeing it deliver long term benefits for the area.”
Eddie Ross, BEAR Scotland’s North West Unit representative, added, “We are delighted to work with Transport Scotland and Breedon Aggregates to help deliver this project, which will see a significant improvement in the A82.
“The investment will greatly enhance road user safety and the resilience and durability of the route, benefiting road users for years to come.”
