Forestry and Land Scotland is advising members of the public and road users that it is to reintroduce traffic management on the A82 as it prepares to resume its long-term felling work in October this year.
The highly challenging Steep Ground Felling Programme aims to clear mature and potentially unstable conifers from the steep slopes along the A82, and so removing the risk of them being blown down in a storm and damaging the road and other utilities.
Preparatory work ahead of the October re-start, including survey work and the erection of safety-fencing, will begin with one week of surveying in February (w/c 15 Feb or as soon as conditions allow) and continue with the erection of safety fencing from the end of March until the End of May.
This will mean the reintroduction of traffic management on the route.
Keith Black, FLS’s Regional Steep Ground Programme Manager, said:
“Our COVID-19 response prioritised staff safety and maintaining the timber supplies that were required to manufacture essential supplies needed in the national COVID-19 effort.
“But we are now at the stage where we are able to resume other work, and we are preparing to pick up our steep ground programme where we left off.
“As ever, the safety of our staff, contractors and the public, is top priority so as we install the safety fencing, a process that could potentially dislodge loose debris, we will be introducing traffic management on the road below the area where we’ll be working.”
The traffic management will cover a 500m stretch of road south of the forest entrance at Bark Sheds (aka Grotaig) and will involve stopping traffic in both directions for up to 10 minutes – but only as required.
It will be in effect from Monday to Friday and from 9am to 5pm.
Keith added:
“We understand that this will inevitably cause some minor frustrations and we apologise for this in advance but we will work with our geo-technical team and our partners, Transport Scotland and Bear Scotland, to minimise any inconvenience.”
