Two major Highland projects have been commended in prestigious civil engineering awards.
The River Ness Flood Alleviation Scheme in Inverness and the berth improvements at Ullapool Harbour were both picked out for special praise at the 2015 Saltire Civil Engineering Awards.
Both won commendations – though they missed out on the overall prize which was awarded to the revamp of Haymarket station in Edinburgh.
Only two other projects won commendations this year – the Borders Railway and the redevelopment of Hampden Park for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The awards were held at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh last night.
The berth improvements at Ullapool Harbour involved building a new concrete berth in Greenock which was then towed up the west coast to be sunk onto the already prepared seabed.
It was needed as a result of the introduction of the new larger ferry MV Loch Seaforth and extra traffic as a result of the Road Equivalent Tariff subsidy.
Gordon Pomphrey, chairman of the awards’ assessors’ panel, said: “The adoption of a caisson to form the pier extension at Ullapool is a fine example of lateral thinking to provide an appropriate low risk solution to a difficult construction problem.
“That the works were completed on time and with no loss of sailings is testament to the skills of the members of the project team.”
The River Ness flood scheme was completed earlier this year in the centre of Inverness.
The flood defences are made of reinforced concrete retaining walls, and the judges picked out how the “hard engineering” of the project has been hidden by the redesigned streetscape.
Mr Pomphrey added: “The River Ness Flood Alleviation Scheme demonstrates a high level of skill, commitment, design and execution.
“The project team has delivered a practical civil engineering solution to a serious problem and has developed this into an asset for Inverness which will be enjoyed for generations.”
Jim Tough, executive director of the Saltire Society said: “Civil engineering affects so many aspects of our daily life from how we heat and bring water to our homes and protect them from flooding, through to how we travel from A to B – and as such merit recognition and discussion.”