Work starts on project to remove 12km of overhead lines in Cairngorms National Park
SSEN Transmission will start work on its £31.9m project to remove 12km of overhead line from the Cairngorms National Park on Monday 15 July, and has announced a revised series of temporary road closures which are essential for the safety of the local community and staff working on site.
The two sections of overhead lines, near the villages of Boat of Garten and Nethy Bridge, will see 46 transmission towers removed from the Cairngorms landscape, with both circuits to be replaced with underground cabling.
Before the process of bringing the lines down can start, the new underground cable and its protective ducting need to be installed, and this phase of the project will begin on Monday 15 July.
The new cable route takes in the roads below, and for the safety of the staff on site and road-users the following traffic management plan has been agreed after consultation with The Highland Council.
Revised plan for temporary road closures
- 15 -19 July: Sawmills Road, Boat of Garten
- 22- 26 July: Deshar Road, Boat of Garten
Traffic lights
- Following on from these temporary closures, from 19 – 28 August there will be a single-lane closure under 2-way traffic lights on the A95 to the east of the junction with Carrbridge.
The closures below, which were originally planned for July and August have now been postponed until the autumn following feedback from Nethy Bridge Community Council to avoid any impact on longstanding events in the local calendar:
- B970 between Loch Garten and Duack Beck junction
- Station Road, Nethy Bridge
- B970 between Nethy Bridge and junction with A95
Letters have been issued to everyone along the route advising of the temporary closures, along with a map showing the diversions which will be in place. In addition, advance warning signage with information on the diversions will be in place one week before each phase of the work is due to begin.
Louise Anderson, SSEN Transmission’s Community Liaison Manager said:
“The safety of our staff and road-users is paramount, and as the majority of these roads are too narrow to allow the work to be carried out safely while they remain open to traffic, the decision has been made to close them temporarily.
“We appreciate that whenever there is a road closure it can cause inconvenience, and we’d like to thank the local communities for their patience and understanding and assure them that everyone on site will be doing their best to complete the work as safely and as quickly as possible.”
To learn more about SSEN Transmission’s VISTA project, and the work that will be taking place around Boat of Garten and Nethy Bridge, please visit the dedicated project website.