New plan to end Longman jams?
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Longed for improvements at the Inverness end of the Kessock Bridge to cure the Longman log-jams moved a significant step closer this week.
The design work to upgrade the traffic bottleneck at Longman roundabout reached an important milestone and the public was able to see and comment on five options that have been developed, hopefully to allow traffic from the A9 and A82 to merge seamlessly at this busy and important junction.
The options see either the A9 or A82 become flyovers near the bridge.
Public exhibitions on the Longman Junction Improvement scheme were held on Tuesday at Inverness Town House and yesterday at Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s stadium. The feedback will then be taken into account as Transport Scotland move towards identifying a preferred option early next year.
Transport Scotland said both expos were well attended with many who turned up being commuters to and from Ross-shire via the Kessock Bridge, fed up with continual peak time delays.
Cyclists were also among interested visitors, including Brendan Dugan from Nairn and Fiona Johnston from Fortrose. Both were dismayed that details for "non-motorised users" were not detailed on the plans at this stage.
Ms Johnston said: "It would have been nice if they were included in the initial design phase."
Mr Dugan said: "No matter which plan is chosen, it does not get away from the fact there are too many cars on the roads."
Both could see potential trouble during the construction work, and hoped planning was starting now to alleviate this with measures such as park-and-ride.
Scotland’s transport minister Humza Yousaf said: "The scheme is part of the Scottish Government’s commitment within the £315 million Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal."
