Work will begin on more than £8million worth of roads improvements across Argyll and Bute in the coming weeks.
A Capital Roads Reconstruction Budget of £8,382,000 was agreed by Council earlier this year, in addition to the day-to-day maintenance work like patching and filling potholes. The work is now due to get underway and residents can expect to see reconstruction of certain streets getting started over the summer.
The budget is allocated based on each area’s overall percentage of the roads network and a detailed breakdown on how the money is being spent in each area is available online.
Some of the work being carried out includes replacement of road surfaces; improvements to drainage systems; and work to repair or improve road edges.
In addition, a Capital Footway Reconstruction Budget of a further £250,000 was agreed and will be split across the four distinct regions.
- Work scheduled in the Oban, Lorn and the Isles (OLI) region includes £430,000 of improvements to the roads network on Lismore and £250,000 of work on the A816 Scammadale Bridge South to Glengallen Bridge; £350,000 being spent on the A849 from Lochdon to Glenmore on Mull; and £150,000 of improvements on Coll, among others. Additionally, £38,250 worth of footpath improvements will be carried out across the OLI region.
- Work scheduled in the Bute and Cowal region includes £120,000 of improvements to the A844 Craigmore to Ascog Bridge and £100,000 of work to the B881 North of Kingarth on Bute. And in Cowal, £320,000 will be spent improving the A8003 Ormidale to Tighnabruich and the C6 Carrick Castle Road will benefit from £142,780 of work. Additionally, £82,500 worth of footpath improvements will be carried out across Bute and Cowal.
- Work scheduled in Helensburgh and Lomond includes a £280,000 improvement of the A817 Haul Road, £129,500 of improvements on the B872 in Garelochead and £140,000 being spent on West Montrose Street in Helensburgh. Other projects are planned for Church Road in Luss, the C73 Barbour Road and Tom a Mhoid in Rosneath, among others. Additionally, £84,250 worth of footpath improvements will be carried out in Helensburgh and Lomond.
- Work scheduled in the Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands (MAKI) region includes £165,642 of improvements to the B8002 Ardfern Road in Mid Argyll; £231,720 of improvements to the B842 South of Saddell in Kintyre; and £200,000 of work to the A846 North and South of Craighouse, among others. Additionally, £45,000 worth of footpath improvements will be carried out across the MAKI region.
Councillor Ellen Morton, Depute Policy Lead for Roads and Amenity Services, said: “This £8.3million represents a significant investment in our roads network, on top of the millions we spend annually on the day-to-day maintenance of the roads. I’m confident that motorists will be pleased with the result of this investment and that any inconvenience caused during the process of the works will be outweighed by the benefits they bring. We are working hard to showcase Argyll and Bute as a great place to live, work and invest and improving and maintaining our roads is a big part of that.”
A full breakdown of how the Capital Roads and Footway Reconstruction budgets are being spent is available now at www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/roads-capital-programme