Design works under way on safety improvements at Forss straight

Campaigners seeking a range of safety measures on the A836 between Thurso and Dounreay say they hope to see improvements being put in place "in the very near future" after Highland Council confirmed that design works have begun.

Last week, members of Forss Campaign Group made it clear they were losing patience with the local authority over a long-awaited report on potential upgrades on the Forss straight.

More than five months have passed since a site visit highlighted some of the irresponsible driving on the route, which is used by motorists travelling to and from Dounreay and Vulcan and is part of the North Coast 500.

It was agreed at the time that council officials would report back shortly.

A council spokesperson said this week: "A specialist independent company has prepared a route assessment. We have reviewed their findings and have started design works.

"We have to finalise the designs and cost out the works.

"Meanwhile, Highland Council is in talks with Dounreay as they are going to contribute towards the cost of some of the works identified and all our staff have been busy delivering the capital surfacing and surface dressing programmes in Caithness and Sutherland."

Responding on behalf of the Forss Campaign Group, Iain Gregory – a retired police area commander and the co-founder of Caithness Roads Recovery – said: "We are pleased to hear that some progress is being made. But we would wish to see – very swiftly – details of the planned works, and a specific timescale for implementation.

"We appreciate that work has been ongoing in respect of capital surfacing and surface dressing works, but we would have thought that the Forss straight design and costing work was perhaps more of a technical, office-based function, and we hope that this project can now be finalised in the very near future."

Mr Gregory and fellow campaigners had complained that the delay in delivering the report was "inexplicable" and reiterated their belief that improvements to the A836 between Dounreay and Thurso should be treated as a matter of urgency. They describe accident statistics there as "alarming".

The hour-long Forss site visit took place on February 14. The gathering included Highland councillors, community councillors and roads officials as well as Dounreay's managing director Mark Rouse.

Mr Gregory later described some of the driving he had witnessed during the visit as "beyond belief". He spoke of "numerous examples of dangerous driving", "grossly excessive speeds" and "downright insanity on the part of many drivers".

Other members of the group, formed in late 2021, are community councillors Thelma Mackenzie (Thurso) and David Craig (Caithness West) and Highland councillors Ron Gunn, Struan Mackie and Matthew Reiss.

They are seeking various traffic-calming measures on the route, such as double white lines, a reduced speed limit through the village, better signage, road repairs and improvements to junctions.

A number of fatal and serious accidents have occurred within the area and a petition was raised by residents in 2013.

In April, the North Safety Camera Unit announced the deployment of a speed camera van at Forss in response to local concerns. The speed limit there is 60 mph.

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