Spring start for seven months of bridge works at Glencoe

The A82 Partnership says it is trying to ensure that traffic lights used during planned bridge replacement work near Glencoe Village starting in the spring will be manually operated.

 

The A82 Partnership's Stewart Maclean said the move will help reduce long tail backs of traffic during the seven months' construction process throughout the busy main summer tourist season.

 

BEAR Scotland has been commissioned by Transport Scotland to replace the existing Allt Fhiodhan Bridge which carries the A82 trunk road over the Allt Fhiodhan watercourse.

 

The bridge is located approximately one mile south of Glencoe Village, is around 89 years old and does not meet the requirements of current design and assessment standards.

 

The bridge is also very narrow and has outdated parapets and safety barriers which do not offer the same protection as modern systems.

 

The existing bridge will be demolished and replaced with a new reinforced concrete box structure which is capable of withstanding modern traffic loading and lasting for 120 years.

 

The new structure will be constructed on the same footprint as the existing bridge, however the A82 will be widened over the structure to provide a compliant carriageway cross section and new safety barriers.

 

A footpath will be constructed over the new structure and this will tie-in with the existing National Trust for Scotland footpath that connects the Glencoe Visitor Centre to Glencoe Village.

 

To ensure the A82 remains open to traffic throughout the bridge replacement works, a temporary two-lane road diversion will be provided to the north of the existing bridge, with a temporary bridge constructed over the Allt Fhiodhan watercourse.

 

BEAR Scotland bridge engineer Zeng Li informed Mr MacLean it was the roads organisation's intention to maintain two-way traffic as much as possible, however there will be periods where the road will be reduced to a single lane, with temporary traffic lights controlling the flow of traffic.

 

This is necessary to allow the temporary road diversion to be constructed and subsequently removed towards the end of the project.

 

Once the temporary road has been removed and the land reinstated, the traffic management will remain in place to allow the new road surfacing to be laid and safety barriers to be installed along the verge.

 

The works are currently programmed to begin in the spring - due to environmental constraints associated with the Allt Fhiodhan watercourse, various key construction activities can only be undertaken during the summer months. The work expected to take approximately seven months to complete.

 

Some preparatory works will be undertaken over the next few months to clear vegetation from the site and divert services away from the existing bridge.

 

As with the main construction works, traffic management will be required to allow these activities to be carried out safely.

 

Mr Maclean told the Lochaber Times: 'Problems can arise when traffic lights are automated. Traffic flows in our area vary depending on the time of day or night and automatic traffic management has been proved not sufficient time and time again.

 

'If automated lights breakdown it can rapidly lead to chaos as we have seen in the past.'

 

 

CAPTION: The Glencoe area is one of the busiest parts of Lochaber during the tourist season.

 

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