White-lining works in Caithness helping to ‘improve road safety’
Highland Council says it has completed 150km of white-lining works across Caithness, Sutherland and Skye, with work ongoing elsewhere in the Highlands.
The operation requires a team of four operatives using two lorries, the local authority explained.
A feeder lorry is used to preheat and deliver the thermoplastic lining material to the lining lorry which then applies the hot material to the road surface as either an edge or centre line.
Immediately after the line is applied, another nozzle adds reflective glass beads, followed by a final nozzle spraying clean water onto the line to cool the material, allowing traffic to flow immediately.
Councillor Ken Gowans, chairman of the council’s economy and infrastructure committee, said: “The council has invested significantly in road maintenance as part of a broader program to improve Highland roads and the dedicated road marking team will help us to improve road safety for our communities.
“I’m delighted to see that the newly established team has made the most of the recent good weather to cover a lot of ground in the north-west and Skye, despite the challenging geography. Our new vehicles are also ensuring that the work is carried out quickly and effectively with minimal disruption for local people.”
Since April, the team has completed around 150km of white lines across Sutherland, Caithness and the Isle of Skye, with a further 190km of white lining works planned for over the summer months across the other areas of the Highlands, including Lochaber, Ross and Cromarty, Badenoch and Inverness.
The council says that exact timings will be weather-dependent, but that they aim to give communities advance notice on social media wherever possible.
The road marking programme forms part of the council’s £2.1 billion Highland Investment Plan which will provide 20 years of funding for roads and transport, schools, offices and community facilities throughout the Highlands.
