New trailers to keep up runway rock runs
A FLEET of four eight foot wide trailers are arriving in Shetland this weekend to beat a council ban and keep up the pace of delivering massive boulders to repair Sumburgh airport’s damaged runway extension.
From Saturday Shetland Islands Council is imposing an 18 month traffic regulation order to stop wide low loaders tearing up the main A970 between Levenwick and Robin’s Brae.
The move came after local councillor Allison Duncan demanded action after constituents warned a fatal accident was around the corner if the steady stream of juggernauts was not halted.
Road verges have been torn up by the nine foot wide trailers being used by Northern Irish transport firm Gills to carry two boulders weighing up to 25 tonnes each from Lerwick to Sumburgh.
Duncan said that there was a risk of a lorry toppling down the embankment at Levenwick and crashing into houses below, or hitting an oncoming vehicle as it crossed the central white line to avoid the verge.
On Friday, Gills manager Laurence Gill said they would now stop using their nine foot wide trailers, which they had been advised would be the best for the job.
“Due to the new regulation that’s been put in place that’s restricting the width to 2.6 metres we are now having to ship in new eight foot wide trailers at our own expense, which we had not allowed for in the pricing of the contract,” Gill told BBC Radio Shetland.
“There are still quite a few stones to go on so it could be going on for another few weeks until the contractor tells us there is enough there to make the site stable.”
Initially rock to repair the storm damaged runway extension was delivered from Norway and taken to the site by barge.
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However on Friday Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd explained that it was quicker and safer to deliver these large boulders to the site by road.
A spokesman said: “The contractor took the decision to transfer the rock armour deliveries by road on practical and safety grounds.
“The alternative was to try to land the deliveries close to the worksite by barge.
“However, this has proved unsuitable given the weight and size of the rocks, project timescales and the potential risk to safety.
“The runway at Sumburgh Airport is a critical part of the Shetland Isles transport infrastructure and it is vital that we ensure the repairs are carried out in a timely fashion, before weather conditions deteriorate.
“This has necessitated the use of lorries to speed up the transfer process.
“Nevertheless, we appreciate the concerns of local residents and will work with the site contractors to minimise the impact of these essential deliveries.”
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