Highland councillors from the Cromarty Firth ward called for the meeting with Transport Scotland to voice serious safety concerns about the Tomich junction on the A9 near Invergordon.

Concerns centre on the short length of the filter lanes for cars using the junction, which leads to a build-up of traffic on the main carriageway of the fast stretch of the A9.

Councillors are also concerned that the sub-standard junction is holding back development in Easter Ross, with two major schemes turned down recently on grounds that the junction is not safe.

Attending the meeting will be Cromarty Firth councillors as well as members from the Tain and Easter Ross ward, George Henry from Transport Scotland, TEC services director Neil Gillies and the council's head of transport Sam MacNaughton. It will be followed by a site visit to the Tomich junction.

Councillor Mike Finlayson said: "I'm hoping that Transport Scotland will have a very close look at this junction and ensure that safety is paramount by carrying out improvements.

"The holding lanes are far too narrow for the volume of traffic on that road and the vehicles are queuing past the holding lanes on the main road which is terribly dangerous.

"There have been a lot of accidents near misses at that junction - I was almost hit there myself - and it's a miracle there has not been a fatality.

"I see the solution at Tomich as being the construction of a roundabout similar to what is at the Nigg turn-off roundabout further up the A9. It needs a proper solution when you consider the sheer volume of traffic and the size of the lorries using it."

Councillors Mike Finlayson (left), Martin Rattray and Maxine Smith want the 'sub-standard' Tomich junction on the A9 to be upgraded as a matter of urgency. Bobby Nelson

Councillor Martin Rattray said: "Apart from the very serious safety issues, there is the strong possibility that development could be stifled in the future unless we can get this sorted. We need to ensure that the road network will support any future developments that come to Invergordon.

"There is also an opportunity to discuss junctions at Alness and Evanton about which concerns have been raised."

Cllr Maxine Smith said over the past decade the Tomich junction had become more of a liability.

"This is a trunk road and Transport Scotland needs to consider the options for this increasingly busy junction in order to prevent developments in the area being stifled due to overload," she said. "I do not accept what they have said in the past, that there is no problem with this junction. This is simply about the bottom line, finance. The least they can do is provide an options appraisal and we can then look at funding possibilities."

Cllr Carolyn Wilson said representations to Transport Scotland and the Scottish Executive had gone unheeded.

"I hope this time they will listen," she said. "A lot of the accidents that happen there are not reported because they are not severe but they have the potential to be and we must get action."

A spokesperson for Transport Scotland said: "Transport Scotland confirms representatives will be attending a meeting this Friday with Highland Council to discuss Tomich junction on the A9. We look forward to meeting the council's elected members to discuss this issue."

editor@north-star-news.co.uk

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