Growing anger over wide load transport
The ever-increasing number of wide loads transiting Lochaber is having a negative impact on some local businesses, with one well known firm reporting that on one day alone last week, 10 tourist coaches refused to make their usual stop.
Community councillor Ross MacLennan, who is also manager at Spean Bridge Woollen Mill, revealed the worrying information at last week's meeting of Spean Bridge, Roy Bridge and Achnacarry Community Council, during a discussion on the movement of wind farm turbine parts along local roads.
The transportation of turbine components along the A82 and A86, which intersect in the middle of Spean Bridge – the junction is virtually adjacent to the woollen mill – is causing long snarl-ups and congestion and local residents are fed up and angry.
‘We lost out on 10 coaches today because of the traffic. People’s jobs are being affected,’ Mr MacLennan told the meeting last Tuesday.
‘Surely there has got to be a better time for these shipments to be made?’
Community council chairman John Fotheringham said the main culprit was the new 66-turbine Stronelairg project just south of Fort Augustus.
Under construction by energy supplier SSE, work started in spring last year, with turbine parts being currently being delivered from Corpach and Skye Aerodrome.
Mr MacLennan said that last Tuesday, lorries delivering turbine parts were travelling through Spean Bridge from 10am until 2.30pm.
‘That’s peak time for us,’ he said.
Worries about local roads arose during a discussion of plans by GFG Alliance for a wind farm to be built by its Simec subsidiary at Glen Shero near Laggan. The project also involves RES (Renewable Energy Systems Ltd) and its community relations manager Callum Whiteford told last week’s meeting the power sections of the turbines would need to be transported from Corpach harbour along the A82, passing through Spean Bridge.
Local Highland councillor Allan Henderson said the movement of wide loads could be done earlier or later in the day to avoid having such a impact and was something that needed to be looked at.