Members at City of Inverness Area Committee approve £4.34m Area Roads Programme 2021/22

Members at last Thursday’s Highland Council City of Inverness Area Committee agreed the priorities of the 2021–2022 Roads Maintenance Programme for the City of Inverness.
 
The £4.34 budget has been made up of the revenue budget of £2,110,723 (for labour, plant and materials including salt for roads) and a capital budget of £2,229,497 (to undertake surface dressing and surfacing).  The Highland roads budget for 2021/22 was approved at the Council’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee on 4 February 2021.  The total Highland roads capital budget is £17.2M.
 
The Programme has been designed by officers with a particular focus on major structural maintenance treatment (resurfacing) directed towards main arterial routes throughout the City.
 
Works agreed, which will get underway during the course of the year, includes resurfacing schemes identified for A862 from Telford Street Roundabout to King Brude Road Junction, General Booth Road, Academy Street Friars Lane Junction, Drummond Road, Crown Circus, Lochalsh Road, Seafield Road and Montague Row.  In total, more than 30km of road throughout the overall Inverness area is scheduled to receive surface treatment (resurfacing / surface dressing) during the year.
 
Schemes are selected for inclusion in these programmes based on need, using information gathered from the sources identified below and have been prioritised with the safety of the travelling public and sustainability of the road network as the main objectives: 
 
• Scottish Road Maintenance Condition Survey (SRMCS) data; 
• Safety Inspections; 
• Service Inspections; and 
• Input and feedback from Ward Members via Ward Consultation Meetings held between December 2020 and April 2021.
 
A further crucial factor for the development of the Programme – which is finalised in the spring – is consideration of the additional damage caused to the road network during the winter months due to the freeze thaw cycle.
 
Provost of Inverness and Area Cllr Helen Carmichael said: “I am pleased that members have approved the roads maintenance programme for Inverness Area.  Local members are committed to ensuring we have the best possible roads within the available resources.”
 
She continued:  “I wish to thank our hard-working road operatives and appreciate their commitment to get repairs carried out to our network as soon as possible.”
 
ENDS