A new coastal defence project worth over £1.7M has recently been completed adjacent to A82 in Fort William.

The works, which commenced in February 2021, involved the demolition and replacement of 750 metres of the coastal defence system, which is situated along the shoreline of Loch Linnhe to the south of the town.

As part of the works, approximately 4,200 tonnes of existing material was excavated along the shoreline of Loch Linnhe to allow construction of the new coastal defence.  The new system consists of over 1650 concrete modular blocks overlain with geotextile membrane and 2,600 tonnes of rock armour, which is designed to resist wave and tidal action and protect adjacent land from erosion.  New culvert headwalls were also installed to provide resilience to the outfall points that are present along the shoreline.

On the A82, footway improvements and new safety barriers have been implemented to improve safety for users of the trunk road.  In addition, new access steps have been provided between the footway and the shoreline of Loch Linnhe below.

Given the scale of the works required to replace the coastal defence system, continuous use of temporary traffic management was required during the project, with traffic signals utilised to control vehicle movements throughout.

BEAR Scotland would like to take this opportunity to thank the local community and road users for their patience during these essential works, which were vital to the ongoing resilience of the A82.

Commenting on the improvements, Eddie Ross, BEAR Scotland’s North West Unit Representative said: “This significant coastal defence investment from Transport Scotland will protect the integrity of the A82 to the south of Fort William for many years, and was necessary following the storms that caused significant damage to the previous protection measures in 2020.

“The new defences will provide resilience to the operation of the A82 at this location, protecting it from the effects of wave and tidal erosion for years to come. In addition, a wider footway adjacent to the trunk road and the provision of new safety barriers will greatly improve road safety for all users of the route.

“We would like to thank road users and the local community for their patience while we carried out these works.”