Fort William roadworks to begin next month
BT’s local network business, Openreach, is about to begin major roadworks in the Fort William area, from the town centre to the A82/A830 junction at Lochybridge.
A new Basecamp Bridge was built in 1999/2000 on A82 North Road next to the Ben Nevis Hotel and Transport Scotland has asked Openreach to recover communications equipment from the old bridge to allow it to be demolished. Openreach will then transfer its network infrastructure to the new one, where there are already ducts.
Most of Openreach’s network along the A82/A830 roads passes through ducts in the old bridge, including multiple fibre optic and junction cables, which connect Fort William and surrounding communities to the national network, as well as main and local distribution cables serving the businesses and communities on the north and west of the town.
Fraser Rowberry, Openreach’s general manager in Scotland, said: “The initial duct laying between the entrance to the Argos/Poundstretcher retail park and the bridge will begin on 16th November 2015 and is programmed to take three weeks to complete.
“Openreach has arranged the works to ensure that there are two lanes in operation throughout the day with any lane closures at night time. This duct-laying work and the majority of the new cabling and the redundant cable removal will therefore take place at night to reduce traffic congestion through the town
“The complexity of the operation means the whole project will take around eight months to complete because once the initial duct laying is complete, there will be cabling works taking place at various locations along A82, with lengths of up to approximately 300 metres under localised traffic management control.
“We’ll be making every effort to minimise the timescale of the works and any inconvenience to road users. I’d like to ask drivers to bear with us as we carry out this necessary work to keep Fort William and its environs in touch with the rest of the world.”
Traffic management plans have been lodged with and approved by BEAR Scotland on behalf of Transport Scotland.
For information on progress, the timing of future stages or the reporting of problems please contact Pete Morrell, Openreach Repayments Project Manager (Scotland), on 07435 661578.
A spokesman for BEAR Scotland said: “We will work closely with Openreach to minimise the impact of these works on residents, road users and businesses.”
Enquiries about this news release should be made to the BT Scotland Press Office on 0800 085 0660. All news releases can be accessed at our web site: http://www.btplc.com/News
