Long-term Barrier improvements could be approved by year end

Orkney Islands Council (OIC) is one step closer to providing a long-term solution to road surfacing issues on the First Churchill Barrier.

The development of a Stage Two Capital Project Appraisal was approved by the council’s development and infrastructure committee this Tuesday morning.

This will see two potential options with a projected price tag of between £1.275million and £2.285million looked at in closer detail.

Should either of these options get the final go ahead, it is  hoped that they would provide a solution to safety issues around road surface cracking and undulation lasting up to 20 years.

First comes the second-stage appraisal process, which in itself will cost approximately £45,000. Its development follows over two decades of concern over over potentially dangerous damage to the road surface caused by movement of the causeway itself brought about by the tides.

Councillors and officials have shared hopes that a project could gain approval by the end of this year, and work could be under way on the barrier by next summer.

More on this story in this week’s The Orcadian, available online and in shops from Wednesday afternoon.