New £1M Coastal Defence Project announced for A87 near Kintail Lodge

Issued by Bear NW

Project to begin in early January and will take 12 weeks to complete

A new £1M coastal defence project is set to be carried out on a sea wall next to the A87 south of Kintail Lodge starting in the new year.

The project, which is due to begin on Monday 6 January for around 12 weeks, will involve teams demolishing the existing coastal defence system which is showing signs of significant deterioration and rebuilding a new upgraded defence system. Around 1,100 concrete blocks, each weighing 1.5 tonnes, as well as approximately 2,000 tonnes of rock armour will be installed along the shore to strengthen and protect the embankment from future coastal erosion, ensuring the A87 carriageway and footway remain fully supported.

As part of the project, the existing footway will be widened and safety barriers on both sides of the carriageway will be upgraded to help improve road safety along this stretch of the route.

To ensure the safety of the workforce as well as motorists, temporary traffic lights will remain in place continuously throughout the project. Due to the extent of the excavation, traffic management will remain in place outwith working hours.

Consultation is underway with the local community, local businesses, the local authority and other relevant stakeholders to inform them of the project and the traffic management arrangements.

Eddie Ross, BEAR Scotland’s North West Representative said: “This £1M project will upgrade the current coastal defence system at this location on the A87 south of Kintail Lodge which is currently showing signs of significant deterioration.

“It is essential that these works are carried out to avoid a larger, more costly and disruptive embankment repair in the future. The traffic management that will be in place is necessary to ensure the safety of our workforce and road users.

“We would like to thank motorists for their patience in advance whilst we carry out this major coastal defence project on the A87 and would encourage them to plan ahead before setting out by checking the Traffic Scotland website for up to date travel information and allow extra time for travel.”

Real-time journey information is available from Traffic Scotland on www.trafficscotland.org, twitter at @trafficscotland or the new mobile site my.trafficscotland.org. 

 

 

19 Dec 2019