Construction work on a £1.7 million sea wall in Fort William has come to an end.
Bear Scotland have replaced about a half-mile of coastal defences along the A82 Achintore Road after harsh weather weakened their resilience.
Ground works commenced on site, along the banks of Loch Linnhe, in February last year.
The project was instigated after poor weather conditions led to large sections of safety barriers and footpaths becoming unsteady.
Officials pledge the new and improved defences will “protect the integrity” of the Fort William to Glasgow section of the A82 trunk road for many years to come.
‘Protecting the integrity of the A82’
Eddie Ross, Bear Scotland’s north-west unit representative said: “This significant coastal defence investment from Transport Scotland will protect the integrity of the A82 to the south of Fort William for many years, and was necessary following the storms that caused significant damage to the previous protection measures in 2020.
“The new defences will provide resilience to the operation of the A82 at this location, protecting it from the effects of wave and tidal erosion for years to come.
“In addition, a wider footway adjacent to the trunk road and the provision of new safety barriers will greatly improve road safety for all users of the route.”
During the course of the works, approximately 4,200 tonnes of material was excavated along the shoreline of Loch Linnhe to allow construction of the new coastal defence.
The new system consists of over 1,650 concrete modular blocks overlain with geotextile membrane and 2,600 tonnes of rock armour, designed to resist wave and tidal action.
Its hoped the new defences will protect adjacent land from erosion.
Community thanked for patience
New culvert headwalls were also installed to provide resilience to the outfall points that are present along the shoreline.
Improvements have also been made to protect users of the A82 trunk road.
New safety barriers have been implemented alongside improvements to the existing footpath.
In addition, new access steps have been provided between the footway and the shoreline of Loch Linnhe below.
Bear Scotland have thanked road users and the local community for their patience amidst the disruption during the works.
Mr Ross added: “We would like to thank road users and the local community for their patience while we carried out these works.”
