Skye’s key port will be shut for eight weeks from tomorrow for the first phase of a major revamp.
Uig Pier will be shut for eight weeks, disrupting all direct ferry services between Skye and the Outer Hebrides.
While the closure is “far from ideal”, local representatives say it’s the best option available.
Originally, it been due to shut for six months – until a major backlash prompted a rethink by transport chiefs.
Now it will be carried out in two phases, with this first stage allowing contractor RJ McLeod to install a temporary linkspan to enable the port to reopen for the vital tourist season.
What services are impacted?
The Skye Triangle operates a daily service between Uig on Skye and the ports of Lochmaddy and Tarbert via the MV Hebrides.
Services cease once the closure begins, with the MV Hebrides assigned to provide relief to the Stornoway to Ullapool route, the main alternative to the Skye Triangle.
That means there will be no services docking at Tarbert and only one service per day at Lochmaddy, significantly reducing the connectivity between the Outer Hebrides and the mainland.
Local representatives agree the situation is “not ideal”, however, the alternative could have had much more negative impacts.
Alasdair Allan MSP said two separate closures is a “far better outcome” than what was originally planned.
He said if the project had lasted six months, it would lead to “devastating consequences for communities in Uist and Harris”.
Two closures should ‘alleviate some of the initial economic hardship’
Harbour owners Highland Council previously insisted the ferry pier had to be out of action from October until April for the redevelopment to proceed.
But Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth instructed a relook at the closure plans to seek a way of reorganising the building schedule and reducing the stoppage period.
It came after Councillor Grant Fulton set up a petition against it, which gathered more than 40,000 signatures.
Skye MSP Kate Forbes said there would never be a good time to suspend the vital ferry services many people rely on.
She said: “It is widely accepted that any closure, however short, is far from ideal. Bluntly, there will never be a good time to suspend services on the Uig triangle.
“I have been in discussions with Transport Scotland and some of the affected businesses on the Skye side, and the situation is being kept under review.”
Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil said he would have preferred a second pier was constructed while work was ongoing to keep services running.
Challenging time for businesses
A spokesman for the community and business alliance SkyeConnect admitted the closure will present a “significant challenge” for local businesses that rely on tourism.
He said: “It is hoped that the splitting of the closure period into two blocks rather than one long closure will alleviate some of the initial economic hardship.
“SkyeConnect along with local partners is producing a marketing film and campaign for the area to let visitors to Skye know that there is so much more to Uig and the surrounding area than just a gateway to Lewis and Harris.”
To find out how the Uig pier closure affects your journey visit the CalMac website.