Cabrach road bridge repairs

Work will begin next week on a major refurbishment of the Cabrach road bridge.

The £90,000 project will include the repair of some of the existing steelwork, strengthening of the bridge through the installation of new steelwork, a new deck and repainting works.

The bridge, which is located on the Tomnaven Road near the former Cabrach Primary School, serves as the only access to a small community.

Moray Council, along with contractors GABRE (UK), have made arrangements to ensure that inconvenience is kept to a minimum.

A spokesman for the local authority said: "The majority of the work will be carried out under a full road closure potentially lasting up to four weeks and a major concern for both the council and the contractor was how to maintain reasonable access to properties.

"To ensure the working farms and households will not be left isolated during the road closure, a number of arrangements have been made.

"The access arrangements include provision of a temporary footbridge, temporary car parks at both ends of the site, and a shuttle service to assist people in moving up and down the approximately two kilometre length of closed road.

"In addition, the footbridge has been made three metres wide to allow quad bikes with trailers to cross. That was agreed following public consultation and is expected to make a big difference in reducing the impact on the community."

The temporary access arrangements will account for around £17,000 of the total cost of the contract.

GABRE (UK) will begin establishing a site presence on Monday and although the road will only be closed for up to four weeks, they are expected to be present on site for approximately 13 weeks.