Inverness West Link Stage 2 construction - 51033448576

Plans are in place to construct a southern bypass that would link the A9, A82 and A96 together involving crossings of the

Caledonian Canal The Caledonian Canal connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William in Scotland. The canal was constructed in the early nineteenth century by Scottish engineer Thomas Telford. Route The canal r ...

and the

River Ness The River Ness (Scottish Gaelic: ''Abhainn Nis'') is a river in Highland, Scotland, UK. It flows from Loch Dochfour, at the northern end of Loch Ness, north-east to the mouth of the Beauly Firth at Inverness, a distance of about , with a fall ...

in the Torvean area, southwest of the city. The bypass, known as the Inverness Trunk Road Link (TRL), is aimed at resolving

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

’s transport problems and has been split into two separate projects, the east and west sections. Also proposed is the upgrade of the existing B8082 Southern Distributor Road to dual 2-lane carriageway or single 4-lane carriageway, that will connect the two sections together.

East Section

The east section will bypass Inshes Roundabout, and accommodate proposals for new development at the West Seafield Retail and Business Park and also a new Inverness Campus, which houses Inverness College UHI's main campus together with "An Lochran" which is jointly occupied by HIE and UHI Executive Office.

West Section

At the west end, two options for crossing the

and

were developed. One involving a high level vertical opening

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

which will allow the majority of

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

traffic to pass under without the need for opening. The other involved a bridge over the river and an aqueduct under the canal. Both of these designs are technically complex and were considered in detail along by the key stakeholders involved in the project. Ultimately it was decided that a bridge over the river and a tunnel under the canal were the best option, although more expensive. Following a public consultation, 8 route options were put forward for consideration by Highland Council from which one was chosen,. This route passes through the canal park area of Inverness, and remains highly contentious. An Inverness Courier poll indicated that 85% of residents would choose an alternative route, most popularly one through Torvean Quarry. This section is expected to be completed in 2021.

Funding

In late 2008 the controversial decision by the Scottish Government not to include the full

bypass in its transport plan for the next 20 years was made. The government's Strategic Transport Projects Review did however, include the eastern section of the route, which will see the A9 at Inshes linked to the A96. But the absence of the TLR's western section, which would include a permanent crossing over the

and

, sparked dismay among several

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

councillors and business leaders in

who feel the bypass is vital for the city's future economic growth.http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/8355/Labour_to_quiz_Holyrood_government_on_TLR_funding.html

References

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External links

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The Inverness West Link

Highland Council The Highland Council (' ), the political body covering the Highland local authority created in 1995, comprises 21 wards, each electing three or four councillors by the single transferable vote system, which creates a form of proportional represe ...

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Proposed TRL route
Transport in Inverness Proposed roads in the United Kingdom