A9 tree felling to cause disruption on Black Isle, Bear Scotland warns Highland motorists
Night-time tree felling works will cause disruption on the A9 for almost three weeks.
Single lane closures will take place between the Munlochy and Arpafeelie junctions from Monday, February 3 to Friday, February 21.
Bear Scotland, which is carrying out the work for Transport Scotland, said the felling is needed to ensure that trees left exposed and at risk of toppling by recent harvesting at the Taindore and Blackwood plantations do not pose a risk to motorists.
The work will be carried out in two phases, starting first on the southbound carriageway before moving to the northbound one.
There will be single lane closures in force during each night of the works, which runs from 7pm to 6am. They warned that it may also be necessary to hold traffic occasionally for “short periods” of around 15 minutes to allow for the safe removal of larger trees and there will be no access to the laybys within the work site.
This section of the A9 will be fully reopened outwith working hours.
Ian Stewart, Bear Scotland’s north-west representative said: “Following a review of the A9 between Munlochy and Arpafeelie after the recent harvesting of neighbouring plantations, we are removing any trees that have been identified as posing a risk to the trunk road and its users.
“It is essential that we put safety measures in place, including single lane closures and short duration stops where necessary while we remove potentially hazardous trees. We have planned the works to take place at night when traffic flows are lower to reduce the impact on the travelling public.
“The nature of the works will result in an increase in noise levels and we apologise in advance for the inconvenience this may cause. We thank road users and the local community for their patience and understanding.”
All works are weather dependent and subject to postponement in the event of adverse conditions.
Real time journey information is available from Traffic Scotland at www.traffic.gov.scot, or on Twitter at @trafficscotland.