Major changes to notorious roundabout in Highland capital – everything you need to know
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Why are changes being made?
Speak to anyone living or working on even visiting the east side of Inverness – the Inshes roundabout has earned itself a long-standing reputation as one one of the most confusing in circulation as well as a city bottleneck.
It's also used every day by commuters who live in the strath and work or do a weekly shop in Inverness.
The surrounding area comprises several neighbourhoods and some of the city's largest employers including Raigmore Hospital and life sciences company, Lifescan.
Pre-covid pandemic, an estimated 13,000 people worked in the immediate vicinity of the junction while Inshes Retail Park is also a key destination for the whole Highland region.
Result? Queues of frustrated motorists especially during the morning and afternoon rush hour.
Sounds like a lot of pressure on this part of the transport network?
Undoubtedly, as it also serves as a key intersection being only one of three crossing points of the A9 trunk road – and pressure is expected to increase in the coming years as the city continues to develop.
A new A9/A96 Inshes to Smithton link is also being developed by Transport Scotland.
What's the plan to reduce congestion and ease journey times?
Following a public consultation, Highland Council plans to reduce the number of exits from the roundabout from six to four which will be controlled by traffic lights.
It has also lodged plans to create three new accesses from the B9006 to Police Scotland’s Highlands and Islands headquarters, Drakies housing estate and Inshes Retail Park.
The new access to the police headquarters will be from Sir Walter Scott Drive while the new access to the retail park will be from Culloden Road and will tie in to a roundabout in the greenspace at Dell of Inshes.
The existing access from the Drakies housing estate via Old Perth Road to the B9006 will be stopped up and a new access will be constructed tying into Drumossie Avenue.
The access to Raigmore Hospital will be widened to incorporate a bus lane for westbound traffic.
Where can I find more details?
In the planning application on Highland Council's website. Check out the design statement – it gives you lots of information from traffic modelling to previous projects.
If you really want to be clued up, there are also drainage impact assessments, an ecological appraisal and a tree survey.
When will work start?
The application is still going through the planning process but work is programmed to start in 2024 and is expected to be completed within 14 months of the start date.
Investigations are also ongoing to determine land ownership and it is hoped that agreements can be reached through negotiations.
Will the changes work?
It depends on various factors including traffic volumes and people's travel habits.
Planning papers note that transport policy has changed in recent years.
The original focus was to provide greater capacity for vehicles through the junction but there is a shift towards more sustainable modes of transport to reduce our carbon footprint.
The papers state: "The Covid-19 pandemic has provided new opportunities for more rapid change and has pushed people to make healthier, more sustainable travel choices.
"Therefore, policies now have a greater focus on providing more capacity for public transport and active travel methods such as walking and cycling."
So I'll be able to get on my bike safely?
The existing Old Perth Road will be closed to traffic, except for local access, and will be used as an active travel route running parallel to Inshes road corridor.
An active travel route has been proposed from Raigmore Hospital to the UHI Campus with other local desire lines provided. A combination of controlled crossings, uncontrolled crossings and crossings with non motorised priority have been provided in the design.
