Roads in the Highlands are set to benefit from new investment as part of a £2 million programme designed to improve timber transport while reducing the impact on rural communities.
Scottish Forestry has announced funding for nine new infrastructure projects across Scotland alongside continued support for existing initiatives that aim to make moving timber safer, more efficient and more environmentally sustainable.
The latest round of funding includes £900,000 for new projects, while a further £1.1 million has already been committed this year to ongoing schemes including coastal timber shipping and regional transport partnerships.
In the Highlands, The Highland Council will receive funding for three improvement projects along the single track A884 near Lochaline.
The work will include structural strengthening, safety improvements and the creation of 18 new passing places along more than 28 kilometres of road, helping both local traffic and timber lorries travel more safely.
Elsewhere, projects will strengthen roads in Argyll and Bute, Dumfries and Galloway, South Ayrshire and the Scottish Borders, with work ranging from resurfacing and drainage improvements to strengthening rural routes used by heavy timber vehicles.
The funding comes through the Scottish Government’s Strategic Timber Transport Fund, which is managed by Scottish Forestry and delivered through partnerships with local authorities and the forestry industry.
Minister for Agriculture, Marine and the Islands Jim Fairlie said:
“It is great to see Scotland’s forests and woodlands capturing what equates to 14% of Scotland’s gross greenhouse gases, generating thousands of sustainable and renewable products, accounting for a £1.1 billion contribution to Scotland’s economy, and providing over 34,000 jobs, many of which are in rural parts of Scotland.
“With around 6 million tonnes of timber being sustainably produced each year by our forests, I am keen to support the sector to work in partnership with local authorities and residents to reduce transport impacts and enable the delivery of social, environmental and economic benefits for our communities.
“The Strategic Timber Transport Fund is a great example of government agencies, local authorities, businesses and communities working in close collaboration to support, stimulate and strengthen local economies.”
The funding will also continue supporting the TimberLINK project, which transports timber by sea from Argyll to processors in Ayrshire, removing around 75,000 tonnes of timber from the road network each year.
According to Scottish Forestry, the scheme avoids thousands of lorry journeys on the A83 annually while cutting carbon emissions by around 1,700 tonnes.
Over the past 25 years, the Strategic Timber Transport Fund has invested £90 million in projects across Scotland, helping deliver improvements worth £130 million through partnership funding and supporting more than 450 timber transport projects.
