Highland Council has reported progress with its Road Improvement Project. which will see a draft of improvements implemented.

At Monday’s meeting of the Highland Council’s Redesign Board (28 November 2022) members received an update on progress made with the Roads Improvement Project which is part of the council’s Business Change programme.

The Project’s purpose is to redesign the service and identify opportunities to improve the effective, efficient and sustainable delivery of all engineering  and roads operations, while aspiring to improve road condition across the Highlands.

The update confirmed that the project team is now in place. The team consists of a Project Manager, a Principal Engineer, a Senior Engineer, Senior Technician, Technician and two Operational Support Officers. Their priority over the next 3 to 6 months is to deliver a programme of work to review policies and guidance currently in place.

Work has already started on reviewing the Council’s Verge Maintenance guidance. The team are also gathering information and comparisons with other Roads Authorities.

The following priorities have been identified and are currently undergoing a LEAN review to suggest improvements:

• Permit Applications
• Temporary and Permanent Traffic Regulation Orders
• Compensation Claims 

In addition to these, a rapid review of the Utilisation of Materials from Sconser  Quarry has begun and the Road Construction Consent process review will be starting soon.

After a successful Redesign Workshop held in October, Council Leader Raymond Bremner and Councillor Russell Jones and Councillor Trish Robertson have been appointed to the Roads Redesign Working Group.

Councillor Raymond Bremner said: “It was good to get this update and although the project is in its early stages, progress is being made now the project team are in place.  An important aspect of the project will be improving communication,  both with staff and customers so we look forward to more updates as work progresses. We need to ensure our roads’ service is as efficient as possible. I would hope that the outcome of this project will ensure that any money that we spend on roads infrastructure delivers the best value and most efficient outcome we can get.”