Floods hit Badenoch roads again
Chaos returned to the roads and riverbanks of the strath with this week’s winter rains the resultant early thaws of hill snow.
Lynchat was again cut off on Monday morning as Badenoch lived up to its name once more as “the drowned land”. The waters had risen so high that the Insh Marshes had balooned enough to make driving too hazardous through the village on the B9152.
Citylink bus passengers were left stranded at Kincraig in the morning after a mix-up over just where the floods were. With drivers wrongly having been told of floods between Aviemore and Kincraig, the service was diverted miles earlier than it should have been.
Traffic restrictions were also imposed on the A9 itself later in the day, following an embankment washout on the north side of Lynchat.
One lane was closed, according to Bear Scotland, in the interest of safety following the washout: “This has also affected the parallel B9152 below which is currently closed.
“The incident occurred after very heavy rain experienced over recent days.
“The A9 itself is not affected but the lane is being closed as a precaution. The washout occurred at a ‘two plus one’ section of the A9, which will be reduced to one lane in each direction.
“The traffic restrictions are effective as of this evening (Monday) and will remain in place until works on the embankment are complete.”
Bear have provisionally set a January 5 completion date on the work, according to Traffic Scotland.
Motorists had already been facing plenty of problems on local roads before the weekend’s downpours.
A brother and sister had had a miraculous escape after their car crashed in heavy snow at Kinloch Laggan on Friday, (December 19) ending up in a deep burn. Their hatchback smashed through a barrier on the A86.
The pair, from Kyleakin on the Isle of Skye, were shaken but not badly injured. They were treated at the scene by an ambulance crew.
Local businessman Ian Brown, who runs Quad Bike Tours and lives opposite at Camus Cillean, heard a series of crashes and raced to help rescue the woman from the vehicle.
He told the Strathy: “There’d been a fairly heavy dump of snow on a new section of tarmac and we had three cars go off the road within about two or three minutes of each other on the same stretch at about one o’clock.
“One of the cars just slid. Another took out some of the chevron barriers. The last couple that came round the bend slid, went off down the bank and into the culvert where the burn goes under the road and managed somehow to land on their wheels and get out of the car with just a few knocks and bruises. They were shaken up.
“They were fortunate not to have spun the car upside down.
“The guy managed to get out of the car. His sister was getting out, and together we pulled her out of the water. It is quite a steep culvert they were in.”
He said the pair, who are thought to be in their 20s, then headed to Kingussie to launder their clothes before getting a train to continue their journey to Edinburgh.
