Council / Cabling works will be detrimental to structure of road in long term, meeting hears
THE DIGGING and reinstatement on the A970 in the Kames for cable installation is likely to have a negative long-term impact on the structure of the road.
That is the view of Shetland Islands Council’s roads manager Neil Hutcheson, who was speaking at Monday’s meeting of the local authority’s environment and transport committee.
There has been significant disruption on the road for a number of months as contractors install cabling for SSEN’s North Mainland reinforcement project, with a series of traffic lights up.
This work has involved digging up trenches, before the road is reinstated.
Some of the reinstatement involved concrete as the asphalt batching plant at the Scord Quarry was shut at the time for essential planned maintenance.
It was confirmed earlier this month that the SIC had given SSEN notices of “defective reinstatements” of four sections of the road in the Kames, with the concrete due to be replaced with bitmac.
It was then announced that SSEN Distribution had revised its plans for the next phase of the project, and would now solely install cabling along public roads.
The company said this would mean work would be completed more quickly, without having the need to create access tracks for undergrounding cable on land.
The A986 Dales Lees road, an important link for getting to the Toft ferry terminal, was also closed for a number of months to allow for cabling installation work.
The topic was raised at Monday’s meeting as North Isles member Robert Thomson expressed concern over the longer term impact on the roads.
He claimed the principal A-class road through the Shetland mainland was being “attacked by contractors” with large trenches.
Thomson said he was sure contractors would be doing their best to repair the road, but he suggested the work could have a long-term impact on the structure of the carriageway.
“Does this not basically just reduce the life expectancy of the road and in reality cost us money?” Thomson asked.
Hutcheson said he thinks there is “no doubt that it will be detrimental to the structure of the road network in the long term”.
He reiterated that the SIC is monitoring the work, adding that SSEN has committed to undertaking a full lane reinstatement.
The cost of reinstatement work is being met by SSEN.
“But deeper down, I think in the long term there will be some impact,” Hutcheson said.
He added that SSEN has a statutory right to do this type of work on public roads.
Responding to Thomson, Hutcheson said he was not aware of any arrangement in this particular situation where the SIC could recover costs later on.
But he said the SIC could look at whether there is anything under the UK law New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 rather than the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 where it could potentially recover costs.
In a press release earlier this month, SSEN Distribution’s project manager Steven Cowie said the company wished to reassure the community that it will continue to have regular discussions with the SIC to “ensure that outwork areas are reinstated to a high standard”.
He added: “We appreciate the impact that work on the public roads can have on everyone’s day-to-day travel, and I’d like to thank the local community for their patience as we go about this essential project.
“To protect the safety of motorists and our workers, speed restrictions will be in place where we’re working, so I’d advise that people factor in some extra time for their journeys.”
The discussion at Monday’s council meeting cropped up during an item on the condition of Shetland’s public roads.
The overall road condition indicator for the road network, as of May 2024, has deteriorated to 33.1 per cent “that should be considered for maintenance,” from 30.6 per cent the previous year.
Hutcheson said while this compares favourably with figures down south, it means that an extra 23 kilometres of road should now be considered for maintenance.
B and C class roads have deteriorated the most, with plans in place to target this in programmes over the next few years.
He said this deterioration could be affected by reduced surface dressing during the Covid pandemic, and a trade embargo that affected supplies of surface dressing materials.
Shetland Islands Council is currently ranked 16th out of the 32 Scottish authorities for road carriageway condition, a decline from ninth in 2022/23.
But for A-class roads Shetland is at the top of the table in Scotland.
Committee chair Moraig Lyall said in general Shetland’s roads are in good condition, but they are something the council needs to keep an eye on.
She added: “It would be foolish of us to consider cutting back on things like our surface dressing programmes…if we don’t do it, it will simply build up millions and millions pounds worth of a backlog of work that will have to be addressed at some point in the future.”
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