January 2003

Front Page Archives

21 August 05
A9 Road Upgrade North Of Helmsdale Taking Shape
The sharp bends on at least one part of the A9 north of Helmsdale will soon be a thing of the past as the upgraded section begins to open in parts to traffic.  the wider road will have better visibility and potential for overtaking as the sharp bends are being replaced by long curves with a much wider view of the road.
 

20 July 05
A9 Upgrade North Of Helmsdale Making good Progress

5 February 05
Construction Of New Section of A9 Road Well Under Way
If you have not driven up past Helmsdale recently you will not have seen the huge amount of work already done on the new section of road.  Several bends are being straightened out or at least made into more gentle curves.  To achieve this masses of rock and in fact the entire hillside along the road is being broken out and crushed as the bottom material for the new road at different points.  Huge trucks are moving up and down very day as the rock is crushed.  The new section of road is due to be completed by October. 

8 October 04
Work Commenced in August 2004

Here are the final details of the work that is now underway to improve the road at the Ord of Caithness

2 February 04
Minister Makes Announcements About Work To Start In Spring 2004

31 March 2003
Work on upgrading the Ord of Caithness section of the A9 is set to move ahead.   Following a recent public consultation, the Scottish Executive has announced that the lower floor valley (red route) option has been selected as the best option for the improvement work between Navidale and Allt Briste North.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION
Monday 3rd to Friday 14th February 2003
A9 Trunk Road
Helmsdale to Ord of Caithness Improvements
Phase 2 Route Options

The Consultation
The Scottish Executive is extending consultation on the A9 Helmsdale to Ord of Caithness Improvements Phase 2 Route Options. The Exhibition material shown at the Exhibitions held in Helmsdale and Latheron on 27th and 28th November 2002 will be displayed in an A3 booklet during office hours at two venues as follows:

Questionnaires will be placed at the Libraries for visitors to provide comment and express a preference for one of the options. No Officials will be present but a contact telephone number and email address of a Scottish Executive Official will be left at each Library.

Earlier this year Road Orders and the Environmental Statement for the first phase of improvements on the A9 from Helmsdale to Ord of Caithness were published. The first phase, which encompasses the Ord Burn Bridge Improvement carried out in 1999, is currently being designed and site work is programmed to start in summer 2003, subject to land entry.

The assessment of route options for the second or southern phase did not produce a preferred solution unlike the first phase. The Deputy Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning, Lewis MacDonald agreed that an exhibition should be held to consult the local community on three options and to seek their views. This brochure summarises the information provided at the exhibition.

Two of the options involve re-aligning the trunk road across Navidale Valley and entail a major diversion from the existing route. The third option involves a series of localised on-line improvements.

The three route options are as follows:

Blue Route - Local On-line Improvements

Yellow Route - Off-line Upper Valley Route

Red Route - Off-line Lower Valley Route

The key features of each of these options are shown on the following three pages. Please take time to examine the details and assist us by completing the questionnaire available at the libraries as this is your opportunity to contribute to the final decision.

These comments will permit a firm conclusion for the Phase 2 scheme to be arrived at and a clear recommendation to be made in the Study Team�s Final Report.

The preferred route will be announced in Spring 2003 and detailed design will follow thereafter. It is anticipated that construction will commence in late spring 2004.

More detailed information will be available at the libraries in Wick and Thurso with questionnaires that should be returned to -

Mrs. T Chapple
Scottish Executive Development Department
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
Or e-mail [email protected]

Information supplied by Scott Wilson on behalf of the Scottish Executive

The Ord of Caithness - Described in History of Caithness by J T Calder 1887