Bussiness
A82 investment call from Lochaber business leaders – BBC News
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Business leaders in Lochaber have called for urgent investment to improve Scotland’s second longest trunk road.
They said stretches of the A82 were unsafe and accidents over the years had resulted in lengthy closures and long diversions.
A 35-year-old motorcyclist was killed at Glen Coe at the weekend and the road around the crash site was shut for almost five hours.
Since 2007 Transport Scotland said more than £190m had been spent on the A82, which stretches for more than 170 miles from Inverness to Glasgow.
Frazer Coupland, Lochaber Chamber of Commerce chief executive, said west Highland residents and businesses, along with visitors to the area, relied on the A82.
He warned detours during an incident could be up to 100 miles long.
Mr Coupland added: “We really have to look at the infrastructure and what the west coast is contributing to the Scottish economy through our products.”
He said produce included farmed salmon, timber and also aluminium from a smelter in Fort William.
Mr Coupland added: “We need infrastructure to match that contribution.
“The bottom line is the roads are not fit for purpose. They require investment.”
Alasdair Ferguson, group managing director at Ferguson Transport and Shipping in Fort William and co-owner of Kishorn Port, said the A82 was challenging for lorry drivers and other motorists.
He said: “To meet large vehicles on that road – it’s not safe.
“There are still bits of the A82 further south you cannot actually pass each other without reversing on a trunk road. That’s not a good thing.”
The A82 links Inverness with central Scotland via Fort William and passes through Glen Coe, Rannoch Moor and Loch Lomond.
Figures released by Transport Scotland in 2022 showed that between 2018 and 2021 there were 22 fatal accidents on the A82 – the highest number for Scottish trunk roads.
The A82 had the third highest number of non-fatal accidents – 215 – with 257 on the A9 and 403 on the M8.
Transport Scotland said it had invested in maintenance and improvements.
A spokesperson said a review of collisions on the trunk road network was carried out every year to identify where resources could be targeted to reduce casualties.
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