Delny rail bridge crossing bid near Invergordon in Easter Ross looks set for approval by Highland Council committee

A DEADLY railway crossing which has claimed several lives looks set to be replaced by a new bridge over the line after council officers recommended its approval.

Plans by Network Rail Scotland for a new bridge at Delny in Easter Ross will go before Highland Council's north planning applications committee next week.

The existing crossing, near Barbaraville, has claimed several lives in recent decades – including a double fatality involving two local teenagers in 2007.

Automatic half-barriers were installed 10 years later, but risk assessments of the crossing found that there would still be "an increased likelihood" of collisions between trains and road vehicles "even with additional safety measures".

If approved, the new bridge would see the existing road diverted over farmland to the east of the existing crossing, before rising up a new earth embankment and across a purpose-built concrete bridge, and then curving back round to rejoin the current road again.

If approved, work could start on the new bridge this year, with the bridge expected to be operational “within 2021 or early 2022". A separate "stopping up order" will still need to be sought to close the existing crossing.

The application attracted three objections and one note of support.

Related: Delny bridge plan for killer Easter Ross crossing

Delight as new barriers go up at crossing - after a 10-year wait

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