Work commenced yesterday evening to improve a section of the Forres bypass on the A96 – giving drivers a detour.
The resurfacing project started at 7.30pm yesterday and will continue throughout the weekend, with contractors working 24 hours around the clock to allow for all works to be completed by 6.30am on Monday morning.
Bear Scotland’s aim of the extensive resurfacing is to tackle the problems in the road and make the bypass safer for motorists travelling through Forres.
Westbound traffic is affected by the closure for the work, but a short diverted route is in place.
The diversion will take drivers along the B9011 Victoria Road, High Street and Nairn Road at which point they can re-join the A96 and carry on to their destination.
The diversion is in the interest of protecting the safety of both the road contractors and the motorists using the road over the weekend whilst the work is underway.
This is part of an ongoing effort by Bear Scotland, the agency who maintain the road, to make improvements to the A96 and will return for the second stage of upgrading the surface of the road at the end of January.
Bear Scotland said they consulted local residents and authorities to ensure that plans in place to ensure that the roadworks would cause as little inconvenience to drivers as possible.
Andy Thompson, BEAR Scotland’s North East representative, said: “The westbound road closure is essential to keep everyone safe during the improvements, however we’ve planned this scheme to take place over one weekend to limit the overall impact to road users and worked to ensure the diversion is kept as short as we can.
“Our teams will do all they can to minimise disruption and complete the project as quickly and safely as possible.
“We thank motorists for their patience while we complete this project and encourage road users to plan their journeys in advance by checking the Traffic Scotland website and allow some extra time to reach their destination.”
Graham Hilditch, chairman of Forres Community Council added: “I am glad that Bear are maintaining the road, I travel on it daily, and I was not aware of any issues with it.
We have raised many concerns regarding the Forres by pass with the authorities. In particular, we consider the Market St junction and crossing to the new railway station to be very hazardous and poorly thought out.”