Northern Police will be escorting the loads which are expected to pass through Nairn at either 09.45 or 10.45 daily, they say:
"Commencing Monday 7 January 2013, Give Svaergods Transport Ltd will be transporting the component parts of eighteen wind turbines to a site at Rothes Cairn Uish wind farm, near Fogwatt, Moray. Most loads will leave from Inverness Harbour, however there will be some leaving from Invergordon Harbour.
The loads will be escorted on Mondays to Saturdays (inclusive) and are expected to take until Friday 8 March 2013 to complete.
The loads will be escorted on Mondays to Saturdays (inclusive) and are expected to take until Friday 8 March 2013 to complete.
Three loads will be moved daily, in convoy. These abnormal loads are considerable in size, measuring up to 52 metres in length and up to 3.5 metres in width. Due to their dimensions each convoy will be escorted by the police throughout their movement. The identified route will see the convoy leave Invergordon Harbour via the B817, Saltburn Road, turn left, taking the road to the rear of Inverbreakie Industrial Estate and join the A9 at Tomich, before heading to Inverness. The identified route from Inverness Harbour will be along Stadium Road to Longman Roundabout, where the convoy will turn left onto the A9. Thereafter, convoys from either harbour will follow the same route along the A96, through Nairn and Elgin before heading south on the A941 to Fogwatt.
Each convoy will leave its respective harbour at 0900 hours. Convoys from Inverness are expected to reach Nairn about 0945 hours and Elgin about 1045 hours. Convoys from Invergordon are expected to reach Nairn about 1045 hours and Elgin about 1145 hours.
Sergeant Chris Whelan, from Grampian Police's Road Policing Department, Elgin, who is in charge of the operation, said, "By their very nature, these wind turbine components are cumbersome and can be slow to manoeuvre. It takes great skill on the part of the lorry driver to ensure each load is moved safely and as efficiently as possible. I would ask motorists to exercise patience and if necessary, find an alternative route to avoid unwanted delays".
bloody wind turbines,eyesores on the community,
ReplyDeleteget rid i say
narook
For once i agree with Narook, but if these things have to travel by road why dont they travel through the night when the roads are at their quietest?
ReplyDeleteOh what wonderfull road chaos this will cause! Would like to see the ones that come from the Inverness harbour up the Stadium road onto the A9 Longman roundabout.............right where they are currently digging it up for the the new sliproad, the new lights, and not forgetting that the new reburb work on the main bridge is starting soon!!....HAHA.....
ReplyDeleteOh how I agree with the comments that have been made about the transport of the dreaded wind turbines though our dear community
ReplyDeleteIt would be far better if the roads were being blocked by parts for new nuclear power stations wouldn't it. Sandown would be an ideal site, near enough the sea to get coolant water to the plant as well, and I expect we'd get a pretty penny for the common good land. And maybe like the good folk of Dounreay we would get the promise of free electricity and a packet of iodine tablets.
Yes, "the answer my friends, is blowing in the wind..."
ReplyDeleteWould have been nice if they could have all had "Made at the Carse" stamped on each and every one of them :-)
To have all of the wind turbines stamped with "Made at the Carse".....I presume you are refering to the old rig yard at Whiteness head.
ReplyDeleteIf so, that would have involved some proper "forward planning" and "common sense"....something that the local "powers that be" are severely lacking in as they can't see beyond their own noses.
It would have been very good for the local economy as we need a big heavy industry up here to provide lots of long term jobs like the yard used to!!
@ DRoss
ReplyDeleteI think you may find that some renewables will have 'Made in Nigg' stamped on them soon. Proof that not all
"powers that be" lack "forward planning" and "common sense"... and indeed some can see far beyond their own noses
I believe Whiteness is hoping also to step into renewable production, but is trailing a little behind as it was earmarked for a marina and housing for some years
When the 52 meter long load reaches us here at traffic light town it could get permanently stuck at a red light if the system is not synchronised to all green first!!
ReplyDeleteAgree though that it would be fantastic to see the yard back on the scene along with the much needed jobs...
Jings, the town is going to be blighted by a wind farm for a whole 60 minutes.
ReplyDeleteShould get the NIMBYs going
@ eyes wide open 1:46pm
ReplyDeleteFully aware of what is planned for the old rig yard and also what is happening at the Nigg yard.
BUT.....a few years ago a whole load of wind turbines went through Nairn on their way to Moray/Aberdeenshire.
All I'm saying is that we have been erecting wind turbines up here(North of Scotland) for a long time....and only NOW are they thinking about building the things here instead of importing them! And during this time the old rig yard has had it's sheds dismantled and sold as scrap to China and "ground work" done for the big white elephant of that Marina development with "holiday homes".
This area has been crying out for heavy industry since the rig yard closed and there have been several missed opportunities in this time!!
"It would be far better if the roads were being blocked by parts for new nuclear power stations wouldn't it."
ReplyDeleteFunny , because there is a guy called George Monbiot who used to say things like that............but he seems to have been on his way to Damascus, when he was 'converted'.
@Dross
ReplyDeleteHeavy industry left our shores due to cheaper manufacturing costs abroad
In the face of that the Whiteness Head attempts to convert the site into a leisure/housing complex seemed positive at the time, indeed up until the current recession hit
To blame business people for not foreseeing a change in costs and viability of producing renewables on theses shores I would suggest is short sighted and unfair on your part, not theirs.
The area is crying out for work of any sort not just heavy industry as I'm sure you'll know only too well
Just about any work or industry would be good and I'm pleased to hear that some Nairn folk are applying for jobs at the Nigg site
If theres any jobs coming up in Ardersier can i be the first to apply for one. Lets hope if they do its not a job for the boys?.
ReplyDelete@ eyes wide open
ReplyDeleteLike many people I doubt if you know all the missed opportunities.
Go back to to around 2000 and there were people wanting to put a big film studio there but Highland Council were wanting to develop the old Craig Dunain Hospital.
Then there was the "incinerator" and combined waste from energy plant. But various groups put the brakes on that. Now they are trying that at the old aluminium place at Invergordon.
Then the forestry industry wanted to build a big woodmill, paper/pulp plant but the "powers that be" wanted to put that at the old aluminium place in Invergordon!
Lots of missed opportunities for big long term jobs provider!
By the time they get around to building the first wind turbine at the Whiteness head yard the boat might have sailed! All it takes is the government to re-think it's subsidies to the wind farm generators, and if the companies don't like it they pack up!
I'm always disheartened when I see the armchair politicians type away citing the "powers that be" and the such like in their critique of the way an issue has been handled or not
ReplyDeleteRenewable jobs are coming to Nigg. On the back of that I wouldn't be surprised to see that Whiteness Head is also kicked back into life.
Yes, renewable subsides can be reduced overnight but so can the cost of a barrel of oil, although neither is likely in the near future.
Despite the strong possibility of Scotland becoming independent next year companies are investing in our country and I very much hope that will mean more jobs being available in the Highlands
ReplyDeleteWhere there's 'energy' there's brass
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444032404578008183300454400.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20249003
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Solar-farms-subsidy-cut-new-proposals/story-12384840-detail/story.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-20444648
http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2233450/warren-buffett-snaps-up-us-solar-farms-in-usd2bn-deal
We have a voracious appetite for energy and someone somewhere will make money from it.