Traffic over bridge rises as shoppers head south

Congestion: Commuters and shoppers contribute to rise in road users

Traffic using a major bridge over a Highland firth has more than doubled in the last 10 years.

The “startling” rise suggests more and more people who live in relatively isolated locations are heading south on a daily basis to work and to shop, says a top local businessman.

A Highland business leader has said that a “startling” rise in north A9 traffic can be put down to more Sutherland commuters and shoppers heading south.

New figures revealed by the Press and Journal last week showed that average daily traffic volumes on the Dornoch Bridge had more than doubled from 3,001 vehicles in 1996 to 6,404 last year.

David Richardson, local development manager for the Federation of Small Businesses, has analysed the reasons behind the increase, and believes much of the new traffic is “localised”.

He said that the A9 north of Brora had not witnessed the same level of rise, so the figures must be explained by growing traffic between Sutherland, Easter Ross and Inverness.

Mr Richardson said: “What we have seen over the past 20 years is more people from Sutherland commuting south over the Dornoch Bridge to work in Inverness, the Cromarty Port and Nigg, and that has meant that more relatively high wage earners have been able to live in Sutherland; a good thing.

“Equally, Sutherland tradesmen have been able to bid for work in Easter Ross and beyond, while those in Easter Ross have been able to take on work in Sutherland.

“There also appears to be a significant increase in freight, not least log lorries.”

Mr Richardson also believed more and more shoppers from Sutherland were travelling to Tain, to the detriment of local retailers.

“One of the biggest changes has been the displacement of shoppers. Tain’s population of 4,000 does not justify a large Asda, a large Tesco, a Lidl, a high street Co-op and a Home Bargains,” he said.

“These exist to serve a wide hinterland, including south-east Sutherland, and we have inevitably seen displacement, with Sutherland’s small village shops losing out.”

A rise in tourism was also put forward as an explanation for the rise in traffic by Mr Richardson, although he added that it was important to see visitor spending “dispersed throughout the north as a whole”.

He said: “The NC500 is not a rat-run to be completed as quickly as possible, but is instead a main artery with some magnificent offshoots, and we should be encouraging visitors, whether travelling by car, campervan, motorbike or bicycle, to explore the byways and not just the highway.

“What about the Moray Firth? Or a tourist route that brings Lairg and the Kyle of Sutherland into the picture?”

“There appears to be an increase in freight, not least log lorries”

Photograph: Sandy McCook JAMS: The Dornoch Bridge, which has seen a doubling of traffic in recent years.