Energy / Surprise as cable laying work will lead to Dales Lees road closure
SIC confirms that works at Dales Lees will take place between late June and November
THE MAIN road linking the North Isles, Firth and Mossbank to the rest of Shetland is set to be closed for at least eight weeks, and possibly longer, from next month onwards.
SSEN Distribution said the road above Dales Voe is too narrow to allow for cable laying work to be carried out while traffic was still flowing.
Closing the road has since been discussed with the council’s road services, with work due to begin on 16 June.
SSEN is laying two high voltage underground cables to connect Sullom Voe Terminal to the local/national grid.
The 18-month project will commence in June and involves the laying of two 33kV cables linking the Gremista substation with a new switching station to be built on land near the terminal.
The North Shetland Reinforcement Project will also secure the power supply to households in the North Mainland and the North Isles once Sullom Voe Terminal’s own power station has been switched off.
Engineering firm OCU Group has been appointed to carry out the work.
The route of the two cables will generally follow the A970 up to the public toilets at Voe, from where it will cut across the hill to join the A968 a few miles north of the village.
Attending a public information event in Brae on Tuesday, Shetland North councillor Andrew Hall said he did not know this was coming.
He said residents have had to put up with traffic disruptions and construction traffic for the last five years and this latest set of works would not go down well.
“It is the first time that I have heard that they are looking at closing the Collafirth road which means all traffic will have to come through Brae,” he said.
“People will be concerned about the increased traffic, and the island residents will be concerned about the extra time that it will take to catch ferries. So, yes, I am very surprised to hear all that for the first time.”
Hall said he had attended an online event with SSEN Distribution in November when none of this had been mentioned.
The council’s roads manager Neil Hutcheson said SSEN had statutory rights to carry out this work.
“Our role will be to coordinate works to minimise the disruption and to ensure the satisfactory reinstatement of the carriageway,” he said.
“We expect works on the A968 Dales Lees road to take place between late June and November and the road width means that it will not be possible to maintain a safe working width, so this will require a road closure with a traffic diversion through Brae.
“The contractor will place the necessary public notices and road signs for this in due course.”
SSEN’s project manager Steve Cowie said he acknowledged the closure would create inconvenience, however he said it would allow OCU to complete that section of the cable laying project safer and quicker.
He added that most of the cables would be laid “off-road” with no impact on traffic flow.
However, construction in the Lang Kames section will be closer to the A970 and traffic lights will be used to manage traffic.
Cowie was unable to say when this section of the cables would be laid. It will depend on weather conditions and the progress of the overall project, which is due to be completed by the end of 2026.
He was also unable to say how the project would cost as this was treated as “commercially sensitive”.
However, it is known that EnQuest is paying to get the terminal connected to the electricity network that will mainly be powered by the Viking wind farm.
The terminal’s own gas power station, which is operated by Equans and is Shetland’s largest single polluter, is due to be switched off by the end of this year.
In order to meet the timeline of this project, EnQuest/Equans will have to seek another derogation from SEPA to prolong the power plant’s life.
There is another public information event Lerwick Town Hall today (Wednesday) between midday and 6pm.
A video detailing the cable route can be watched on SSEN Distribution project page here.
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:
- Removal of third-party ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
