An energy company has apologise to Forres residents for the disruption caused by a lengthy period of power lines works.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) is in the midst of a three-year project to upgrade and modernise the line between Beauly and Keith.
Engineers are currently on site to replace almost 20 miles of line and undertaking refurbishment work on 122 towers along the route between Nairn and Elgin.
But it has been causing disruption for local commuters, with some residents also branding the works “an eyesore”.
Significant scaffolding and netting has been highly visible on the A96, near to the Greshop Industrial Estate in Forres, for a number of weeks.
One call centre employee, who travels into Forres every day from Elgin, said: “This is quite a substantial operation and it has taken over so much that frankly it’s a bit ridiculous.
“It is certainly quite ugly on the eye and when you drive past, it is very distracting.”
Another Forres resident walks past them almost everyday and said: “These are major works and they look awful close-up.”
An SSEN spokeswoman apologised for any disruption caused by the essential works, which will increase the 132kV network capacity of the power line, while also replacing assets nearing the end of their working life.
She said: “As a responsible developer we aim to mitigate local impact wherever possible as we safely carry out our works.
“Where traffic management measures are required, we aim to provide as much notice as possible to local road users and keep disruption to a minimum.
“We recognise that these works may cause an inconvenience to people’s daily routines and we’d like to thank the local community and road users for their patience as our teams progress this vital investment in our transmission infrastructure.”
The overhead line running between Beauly and Keith was built in 1955 and is a key part of Scotland’s transmission system.
The modernisation programme started last summer and is expected to help secure north electricity supply.
