Islanders and those who use ferries to Coll and Tiree are being asked to share their views on plans to replace linkspan decks at both terminals.
Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) has revealed the work will see both ports operate a passenger only service for up to four weeks each.
The body announced the £3.7million project last month and held public meetings in Coll and Tiree in early December, along with CalMac Ferries, to share details of the planned arrangements for the linkspan deck replacements. This included the timing of the construction projects, linkspan closures and the proposed alternative ferry service arrangements.
It is anticipated the work will take place in late autumn 2019 at Coll and early spring 2020 at Tiree, and each project will last for approximately four weeks. During the works, a passenger-only service will be running, with a lift-on/lift-off service available for freight customers.
Presentations shared at the public meetings are now available to view on CMAL’s website and an online survey is open for people to provide comment and opinion on the plans.
Brian Sydney, senior civil engineer at CMAL said: “We’d like to thank everyone who attended the public meetings; they were a great opportunity to meet local people and hear their views.
“We understand how important ferry links are to island communities. This is vital harbour maintenance work and, unfortunately, will require a period of linkspan closure, meaning that a vehicle ferry service will be unavailable during the construction period. We hope that the arrangements we’re planning to put in place will minimise disruption and inconvenience as far as possible. We would appreciate further feedback and we invite the local community to take part in our online survey.”
