29/05/2026
Overnight Road closure on the B862.
It’s been quite a week! A few things have happened this week which have caused many people to be frustrated and upset, understandably, because of the overnight closure of the B862 on Dores Road.
The road is closed to enable the installation of a new water main for the next phases of Ness-side. Ahead of the work commencing we asked the Highland Council and contractor if the works could be achieved by closing only one lane of the road at a time. We were told it would take longer to complete if that happened, and a decision had been made. This might be lesson #1 - a longer period of disruption might be preferable, should there ever need to be a next time.
The works were scheduled to be done overnight from 8pm to 6am, Monday to Friday and that is what has happened. The works themselves appear to have gone well. We are checking in with the contractors over the next few days to see if they are on target for completion. Although the signs mention a four week closure - which is what permission was given for- the contractor hopes to be finished in two weeks.
Please note there are no road closures Friday, Saturday or Sunday nights, despite what the signs state.
When the work on Dores road is complete the contractors will move to the crossing of the west link road, which is going to be done, apparently, by closing one lane at a time, with traffic lights. This too will bring its own challenges. Yes, you read that right- that road will have one lane closed at a time.
But back to this week. Understandably the official diversion route, via Dores, is perhaps being less well used, with many favoring the C1040, the single track road at Torbreck. The C1040 road was never designed for the volume and speed of the traffic seen this week. Anyone who has experienced the road this week will know that 6 cars trying to get into a 1 car passing place, with multiple cars approaching in the opposite direction is always going to be challenging. Although there has been lots of reversing required thankfully there have been no reported collisions. That is just as well, because an incident will make an already bad situation impossible. Please take care and when using this route navigate the road and its blind corners at a safe speed.
Thursday evening’s attempt to close the road was, we think, a complete misunderstanding. The C1040 was not closed by the temporary order and we are trying to get to the bottom of why cones and signs were deployed either end of it last night.
We were advised that the private road at Ness Castle Drive was supposed to be the focus for the signs and cones on Thursday evening. This track is a private access. The public do not enjoy the right to use this route with vehicles. The public do have the right to use this, and many other routes, responsibly by walking, or cycling or on horseback. But not motorized vehicles. The route is maintained by the householders who use it as the only means of accessing their homes.
Whether this situation can change has been the topic of previous discussions over the years and a situation like there has been this week plus the other regular temporary closures which occur through a year might bring those discussions back to the fore. But for now it is a private road. It does not form any part of an official temporary diversion and it is asked that this be respected, please.
ALL of this is very frustrating, for everyone affected. It would have been a whole lot worse if the works were done during the day. And hopefully it will be over soon enough.
