Lack of progress on road improvements at Forss frustrating the public, says campaigner
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People are becoming "very frustrated" with the lack of progress on plans to improve the A836 road between Thurso and Dounreay.
Iain Gregory of the Forss Campaign Group said action is needed to make the Forss straight section of road safer for motorists, including staff at Dounreay and Vulcan as well as those travelling on the North Coast 500 route.
"This has been ongoing since 2013 and we are reaching the point where we need to get the safety measures in place," he said. "It has taken so long people are finding it difficult to understand why that is the case. We need to get this moving as the public are becoming very frustrated by the delays.
"It is almost a decade since a petition was handed to the then MP, John Thurso, and we are not much further forward. This is all about road safety and should have been dealt with by now. We need to get it sorted," added Mr Gregory, who pointed out that the campaign group includes Highland and community councillors.
Dounreay has agreed to help fund some of the improvements.
Mr Gregory, speaking at this week's meeting of the Thurso Community Council, said he wrote to Highland Council chief executive Donna Manson to express concern about the delays to the road improvements.
In a reply, an official said: "I am sorry that you feel frustrated with how this matter has been handled," but added: "I can advise that the tendering process is ongoing, therefore it would be inappropriate to share what is proposed at this current time... We are currently waiting on an external contractor providing costings.
"Regarding the timescale for implementation, this will depend on the cost, budgetary pressures and the contribution from Dounreay."
The reply dismayed the community council members with chairwoman Thelma Mackenzie stressing that a meeting was held at the Forss road in February this year. It included Highland councillors, community councillors and roads officials as well as Dounreay’s managing director Mark Rouse.
"The speeds vehicles were travelling at that day were unbelievable," she said.
Mrs Mackenzie added that Dounreay has agreed to help fund the improvements and said: "Highland Council needs to get on with it."
Thurso and Northwest Caithness Highland councillor Ron Gunn said: "It is very frustrating for everyone concerned as nothing seems to be getting done. Dounreay has offered to help out and we should act quickly to make the most of that opportunity."
Earlier this year, the campaign group was told design works had begun although they had to be finalised and costed.
At the time, Mr Gregory, a former police inspector, said the improvements to the Forss straight should be treated as a matter of urgency and described accident statistics there as “alarming”.
The group, which was formed in late 2021, wants various traffic-calming measures, such as double-white lines, a reduced speed limit through the village, better signage, road repairs and improvements to junctions. It says a number of fatal and serious accidents have occurred in the area, which has a speed limit of 60mph.
