Forestry work to remove damaged trees at Tyrebagger could cause delays for motorists travelling on the A96 Aberdeen to Elgin road next week.
Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) are planning to remove unstable trees at risk of falling onto the road.
The trees were badly damaged during Storms Arwen and Storm Corrie back in 2021.
FLS says the forestry works are necessary because the trees have become vulnerable to “progressive wind blow from any future storm events”.
The A96 near Tyrebagger Forest will be restricted from Tuesday August 15 for one week until Tuesday August 22 between 7pm and 5am.
To allow for traffic to flow, traffic lights will be set up in both directions, allowing for up to 10 minutes of closure for work to be carried out.
Also beginning on August 16, the B979 Tyrebagger to Kirkton of Skene will be closed for two weeks.
‘We are still dealing’ with damage from Storm Arwen
It comes after work to remove damaged trees on the north side of the A96 was carried out by FLS last year.
Dan Cadle, FLS’ harvesting, forest management and stewardship manager, said: “The scale of the damage caused by the storms of 2021 has been so great that we are still dealing with it.
“We’ve prioritised our work starting with the ‘highest risk’ areas and working our way through it all.
“Much of the tree felling work in the forest is far enough away from the road that it can be done safely without affecting road users.
“However, there are some very big and very heavy trees – some over 30 metres and weighing several tonnes – that are close enough to the road to require us to halt traffic.
“Public safety is always our top priority so the traffic management is unavoidable. We appreciate that there will be some inconvenience and apologise for that in advance.”
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