The Scottish Government has granted the Highland Council £150,000 to extend the length and number of passing places on the road to the Fairy Pools.
But £240,000 of work the council was due to undertake at Glen Brittle at the end of September has still not been completed.
While a new date for works to commence has not been confirmed the council has said both projects are likely to be run concurrently.
Kate Forbes MSP – who represents Skye – confirmed that Highland Council will receive £350,000 from the Scottish Government for a series of projects on the island.
The road to the Fairy Pools, which also serves the township of Glenbrittle, has deteriorated under the huge volume of vehicles coming to the iconic attraction.
The road has struggled to cope with over 200,000 visitors annually, with tourists being turned off from visiting.
Last month, the council announced a plan for upgrading the road to the Fairy Pools – but said traffic levels will have to be monitored “at the time to see if this is possible”.
However, a spokeswoman confirmed they had not taken place.
‘Never designed to cope ‘
Ms Forbes personally wrote a supporting letter which was included as part of the council’s bid.
She said: “Everyone in Skye is aware of the long-standing pressures on local roads as visitors from around the world flock to iconic sites on the island each year.
“Over the course of this summer, I have heard from local residents of people being unable to access hospital appointments on time, care assistants being unable to attend to their patients or take their children to scheduled activities – most of these are caused by single track roads being blocked by congestion – or occasionally by vehicles becoming stuck on verges.
“Put simply, the present setup was never designed to cope with the current volume of traffic.”
A spokeswoman for Highland Council said works planned for the end of September had not been completed “due to program slippage” and the “fact it is a heavily trafficked road so the planned capital works are postponed”.
Economy and Infrastructure Committee chairman, Counillor Ken Gowans said: “The funds give the council the opportunity to extend passing places and create new ones in parts of the road network that are now used more frequently by motorhomes, tour buses and visitors to the island.”
How will £350,000 funding be used on Isle of Skye?
The £350k awarded to the Community and Public Access Improvements project will be used for the following projects on Skye:
- Fairy Pools – extending the passing places and creating new passing places in Glen Brittle. Total project cost £150, 000
- Claggan Road – extending the length of existing passing places and provision of new passing places. Total project cost £150, 000
- At Neist Point existing passing places will be extended, new passing places made, and additional parking will be created at Neist Point. Total project cost £150, 000.
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