Project details

Description

BEAR Scotland, on behalf of Transport Scotland, will undertake tree felling works along a section of the A830 and will be carried out in two phases. Phase 1, which is split into six sections, covers a distance of 4.1km, and will include works on both the northbound (NB) and southbound (SB) verges. Details of Phase 2 works are yet to be confirmed. These works will occur at a later date and are not included in this assessment.

Phase 1 works will include vegetation and tree clearance up to 5m from the road edge, and are required to clear encroachment onto signs, laybys, and the A830 carriageway, and to improve forward visibility. The total area of vegetation removal for Phase 1 is approximately 2.14ha and approximately 2,150 small-medium sized trees.

Key plant and equipment to be used on site include a tractor with mulching head, Hiab lorry, chainsaws, pole saws, woodchipper, fuel and oil for machinery.

Phase 1 works are currently programmed to begin in Autumn 2025 with a provisional start date of 1st of December 2025. Works will be carried out over approximately 5 weeks within daytime hours. Traffic Management (TM) will consist of temporary traffic lights (TTLs) and verge working where possible. The scheme is located on a trunk road stretch with no pedestrian facilities present, however non-motorised users (NMUs) will still be accommodated within TM.

Location

The scheme lies on a 4.1km stretch of the A830 trunk road within the Highland Council administrative area (Figure 1). The scheme is split into 6 sections (Figure 2 & 3). The full scheme is located between the following National Grid References (NGRs) NM 99807 78610 and NM 95967 79333.

Individual sections are located between the following NGRs:

Table 1: NGRs
Section Start NGR End NGR
Section 1 NM 99627 78648 NM 99509 78678
Section 2 NM 99468 78691 NM 95967 79333
Section 3 NM 96009 79350 NM 97363 79209
Section 4 NM 97633 79169 NM 97771 79131
Section 5 NM 97808 79116 NM 98375 78864
Section 6 NM 98438 78844 NM 99752 78630