Work on 'vital' Spey bridge scheduled for June
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A £1.85 million project to repair a critical piece of Moray's infrastructure is expected to get underway in June.
Temporary work has been undertaken on the A941 New Craigellachie Bridge after a cracked bearing was discovered.
A meeting of the council's economic development and infrastructure services committee this morning heard the contract for refurbishment is out of tender.
The project, which will take place in two phases, will also address damaged deck joints and repair the road and footway surfaces.
Acting consultancy manager Debbie Halliday said: "We have actually put in some temporary works to jack the bridge up at the moment until we undertake the refurbishment."
In total, £2.7 million will be spent on Moray's bridges over the coming year, with capital works also planned at Glenlivet Bridge, Arthur’s Bridge, Salterhill Bridge and the Bridge of Kings Ford.
Conservative Councillors earlier voiced concerns that around 20 per cent of Moray's 371 bridges had been rated as in a "poor" or "very poor" condition.
Ahead of the meeting, Forres Cllr Claire Feaver said: "We are committed to spending nearly £2 million on the New Craigellachie bridge which is obviously important as it is a lifeline route for the whisky industry. But that means that there is next to nothing left for all the other bridges.
"Of the 72 bridges in Moray which are rated "very poor" or "poor" it appears that only seven are in the revenue works programme for this year and five in the capital works programme."
During the meeting, the council set out how it will spend more than £8 million on maintaining Moray’s £1.6 billion roads portfolio, while £1.4 million will be set aside for winter gritting and emergencies.
Buckie Cllr Gordon Cowie congratulated staff after it emerged work to replace Moray's street lights with LED lanterns is forecast to cost around £1 million less than expected.
The five-year programme, which is due for completion this year, had been expected to cost £5.5 million. Once complete, the LED lights will deliver yearly savings of £350,000.
The council will also spend just over £4 million on home to school transport, which benefits 2,700 pupils each year.
As part of the vast package of road, bridge and transportation measures, road safety initiatives and disabled adaptations such as dropped kerbs are planned, as are flood risk management works of £282,000.
Committee chairman Graham Leadbitter (Elgin City South) said despite the need to reduce spending, investing in infrastructure is a sensible decision as part of long-term financial planning.
He said: "Maintaining critical infrastructure across Moray is one of the bread-and-butter jobs of this council. Routes such as the A941 through Speyside are vital to our local economy, and these planned works will keep our communities connected."
