'Neglected' Ross-shire community demands action on horribly rutted roads after string of accidents and near misses as years of appeals fall on deaf ears
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A 'FORGOTTEN' Ross-shire community is demanding action on a deeply rutted, disintegrating road on which three generations of the same local family have experienced accidents.
Last week, the Ross-shire Journal started a campaign on the state of the county's roads, highlighting a near-miss experienced by an Easter Ross woman who had to take evasive action to avoid a lorry – at the expense of significant damage to her car.
Our front page Ross-shire Roads in the Spotlight feature caught the attention of Val MacGregor, a community councillor whose family lives in Achterneed.
She has seen her husband, son and granddaughter all come to grief on the deep ruts which have been the source of complaint for over a decade.
"He came back in covered in blood and I still don't know how he managed to get back up again. His face was covered in blood and he had bruises on his hand, arm and knees. I got a terrible shock."
Mrs MacGregor was horrified when she saw her husband John (81) stumble through the door covered in blood after taking a heavy fall in one of the deep ruts.
Recalling the deeply upsetting May 2020 incident, she said: "John has dementia but at that time was still able to go out for walk near the house.
"He came back in covered in blood and I still don't know how he managed to get back up again. His face was covered in blood and he had bruises on his hand, arm and knees. I got a terrible shock."
After taking her husband to Accident and Emergency at Raigmore for treatment, she then witnessed him losing the confidence to go out on his own.
She said: "That has been his last bit of independence gone. He has now lost that. Half of the Achterneed road is affected and if it had been repaired when we first started asking about it, the problem would be nothing like as bad. It has been forgotten for so long the road is falling apart. Many of the people living here are elderly. We feel totally neglected."
One of her sons, Alexander, came to grief in his tractor when it got caught in a rut avoiding an oncoming lorry last summer. The tractor toppled, its fall broken by a hedge at the side of the road. She said: "The lorry was not going to move and there was nothing he could do.
"It's not as if it's a quiet road either. It's busy with cars, lorries and a school bus as well as visitors. There have been shredded tyres and if you hit the wrong part, you will damage your vehicle. We are all fed up of it. We have seen perfectly good roads elsewhere, in Tain for example, get treatment while this one is falling apart. It just isn't fair."
A member of Strathpeffer Community Council – as was her husband before her – she has tried to lobby for action without success. She says any repairs that have been made have been temporary and fallen apart, sometimes within weeks.
She recalls her granddaughter – now 12 – taking a tumble on one of the ruts aged two. Ten years of complaints since then have borne no fruit, she said.
Ward councillor Ian Cockburn said he was aware of the road and promised to contact the roads engineer to take a look.
He said the Highlands' road issue requires a long-term strategy with additional money being allocated year by year. He said the Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh ward had benefited from extra funding after a more proportional carve-up of funding following a shake-up of committees.
He said it was important to spend wisely and agreed temporary patching was often inefficient.
He said: "I'll take a look with the engineer. We will do our best."
Last week's stories: Millions lost to Ross-shire roads maintenance
'She had a – drive into the side of the road or land under a 40-ton truck'
Affected? Get in touch. Email hector.mackenzie@hnmedia.co.uk
