I had been in Inverness for a few months when I got sent on this job. It was a major road improvement project and an amazing feat of engineering which involved the draining of part of the Caledonian Canal.

WORK to complete the second phase of the Inverness West Link Project is back on track after contractors worked over the Christmas period to make up for lost time.

A second swing bridge is being built over the Caledonian Canal so that traffic will no longer have to queue when bridges are in operation.

The development also includes a new bridge control tower and roundabouts on the A82.

Contractor RJ McLeod has drained part of the canal for the works and Colin Howell, Highland Council’s head of infrastructure, said work driving in sheet metal piles should be completed by next week.

He added: “The project is going remarkably well – this was what we deemed to be the riskiest operation. We did encounter some problems with the piling, but RJ worked over Christmas and pulled it back on schedule.”

The work on the canal section, which is a scheduled monument, is expected to be finished by mid-March – with the whole project completed by the end of this year.

Construction began in June and during the project, a number of cremation urns were unearthed which are thought to be 4500 years old.

Steve Scott, the project manager with RJ McLeod, said they had a “very tight window” to complete the work on the canal section but it was going well and he was sure it would be done on time.

From the Highland News on Thursday, January 16, 2020.