Work begins on final phase of South West Inverness Flood Relief Channel

Work began today (Wednesday) on the £6.57 million fourth and final phase of the Inverness South West Flood Relief Scheme. R J McLeod  Contractors have been appointed by The Highland Council to complete the 52 week contract. 

Pupils of Inverness Royal Academy joined with Councillors and contracting staff at a turf cutting event to mark the start to the works, which will bring the value of the flood relief scheme to £16 million.

The final phase lies between Oldtown of Leys and the Alt na Skiah Burn to the south of Fairways Golf course. The scheme intercepts four watercourses - Lochardil Burn, Slackbuie Channel, Slackbuie Springs and Alt na Skiah Burn - and channels the waters into the River Ness, via the Holm Burn. 

The total length of construction for this final phase is 1,400 metres. Approximately half of this will be buried precast concrete box culverts and the remainder will be open channel. 

The works have been designed by AECOM based in Leeds  and works will be supervised by the Council. 

Councillor John Laing, Chairman of The Highland Council’s Transport Environment and Community Services Committee, said:  "This is a major project for the city and represents a significant investment in flood mitigation measures to deal with exceptional weather flood events as and when they may arise in the future.” 

Phase one commenced at the River Ness and travels up the Holm Burn to Holm Burn Bridge. The works involved increasing the capacity of Holm Burn, bunding works on the banks, the widening and deepening of an existing sediment pond, the construction of a fish pass and the replacement of two bridges.

Phase two commenced at the Holm Burn just downstream of Torbreck Bridge and terminates at Culduthel Channel. The works involved construction of the confluence at Holm Burn, a sedimentation pond and weir to catch sediment from the channel prior to its discharge into the Holm Burn. The channel travels in a culvert until beyond Essich Road, and then travels largely in open channel until Culduthel Channel.

Phase three began at Culduthel Channel and ended at Lochardil Burn, Old town of Leys. The channel is a combination of culverted sections and open channel.

Works are nearing completion on the replacement of Holm Burn Bridge on Dores Road. This replacement increases the flood capacity of this bridge, but developers are also funding the widening of the bridge and provision of a cycleway to access a proposed adjacent development.