By-pass: jam tomorrow and jams today?

An interesting fact to surface from a presentation at the ward meeting tonight was that 70% of all traffic using the A96 through Nairn is simply passing through. Thus if we had a by-pass the town would theoretically lose a lot of traffic. If it doesn't happen, then how long before total gridlock? That wasn't a question asked tonight however as the Highland Councils' Head of Transport & Infrastructure and the Principal Engineer explained the situation as it is at present with the by-pass. The next important step is to get the by-pass onto the design stage but there are issues with finance for that and even then cash is tied up big-time with the proposed Forth Road crossing. There didn't seem to be too much tonight that was all that new to close observers of by-pass affairs but it was an interesting and informative presentation.

Reading between the lines in seems we really are at the mercy of events outwith our control although the Highland Council are lobbying hard who knows where Nairn's pleas will stack up in the wish list at the end of the day?