Slochd Cottages Railway Bridge on old A9 remains closed eight months on
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A bridge on the old A9 remains closed on safety ground despite hopes that it would have re-opened by now.
Highland Council said at the end of last year that the crossing would remain shut until at least May but that it could be much longer.
The Slochd Cottages Railway Bridge on the U2400 road between Blackmount and Slochd was closed toward the end of last October.
Council road bosses acted without warning, later seeing there were fears the crossing could have collapsed onto the main Highland rail line below.
Concrete blocks remain in the way blocking the crossing to traffic.
Updating the Strathy, a Highland Council spokesperson said: "The Slochd Bridge remains closed and no decision has yet been taken on the reopening.
"We are awaiting the outcome of a structural re-assessment of the bridge before deciding on reopening.
"This is a normal process in this sort of situation which involves assessment of the bridge by two independent engineers.
"The first engineer – Highland Council – has already completed their assessment but we are still awaiting verification from the second independent engineer before we can confirm anything.
"This is currently in progress and we expect to resolve this in the next few weeks."
A road traffic survey showed that vehicles in excess of the 3T weight limit were using the bridge on a regular basis leading to fears it could collapse.
This was exacerbated when the A9 was closed following accidents last summer when a significant number of HGVs used the bridge as a diversion.
A council spokesperson said at the time: “The decision to close the bridge was an emergency one, on the basis of the high risk of collapse due to repeated use by vehicles in excess of the weight limit, the likely mode of collapse being sudden and without warning, and the very high consequences of collapse of the structure onto the Highland main line.
“As the decision was a matter of public safety, a consultation was not carried out.
“We have apologised to residents and stated that communication around that should have been better."
The initial outline timetable for an options report was a follows: inspection (December 2022); consultation (late February 2023); options report issue (early May 2023).
Slochd residents had expressed their concerns over the bridge’s closure which means they now have to make a right hand turn and cross the A9 northbound lane on a notorious stretch in order to head south.
The bridge remains open for pedestrians and other users.
