A new coastal defence project worth £1.7M has been announced for the A82 at Fort William, with plans to commence the construction of a new sea wall on Achintore Road from next week.
As a result of storms Brendan, Ciara and Dennis last year, large sections of the existing coastal defence system on Achintore Road have suffered severe undermining, with high tides and flooding washing away material and impacting the stability of the safety barrier and footway adjacent to the A82. Emergency repairs took place in March as a short-term measure to help stabilise the embankment and to avoid an ongoing need for traffic management on the trunk road.
The proposed project will involve the demolition of a section of the existing coastal defence system and installing new protection measures along a 700m section of the shoreline.
The new system will strengthen the embankment supporting the A82 and protect it from future erosion, whilst also allowing a wider footway to be constructed adjacent to the road and enhancements to the steps providing access to the shoreline. New safety barriers will also be installed, greatly improving road safety for users of the route.
A similar coastal defence project was undertaken on A82 in Fort William during the spring of 2019, where 550 concrete blocks weighing 1.5 tonnes each were placed and then covered by a layer of rock armour.
The new project is planned to begin on Monday 15 February and is expected to take up to six months to complete.
To keep roadworkers and motorists safe, temporary traffic lights will be in place for the duration of the project and will be manually operated during peak periods to assist traffic flow. Works areas will also be limited to short lengths so to minimise the extent of traffic disruption experienced.
Should Covid-19 travel restrictions be eased by the Easter weekend and the Six Day Trials event, the traffic lights will also be removed at these times to assist the movement of traffic along the A82 during these busy times.
Consultation with the local community, local businesses, the local authority and other stakeholders was completed earlier this month.
Commenting on the improvements, Eddie Ross, BEAR Scotland’s North West Unit Representative said: “This essential £1.7M upgrade to the coastal defence system on the A82 will address a section that has suffered significant deterioration, particularly after the storms of last winter. By undertaking works at the earliest opportunity, the integrity of the A82 at this location will be maintained avoiding disruptive reconstruction works to the trafficked carriageway.
“It is acknowledged that works of this nature can cause disruption; however, our teams will implement various measures, such as manually controlling the traffic signals and avoiding works over public holidays, to ensure delays are minimised.
“We would like to thank the local community for the feedback received during the consultation process and for taking the opportunity to work with us in planning how we deliver these essential works. We would also like to encourage motorists to plan ahead before setting out by checking the Traffic Scotland website for up to date travel information.”
Real-time journey planning information can be obtained by visiting www.trafficscotland.org, twitter at @trafficscotland or the new mobile site my.trafficscoltand.org.
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