Highland Council Winter Road Condition And School Closure Report For Wednesday 7 March 2018

7th March 2018

Maps of the Council's gritting routes by priority and policy are available online at www.highland.gov.uk/gritting.

The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.

Road condition reports by The Highland Council's Community Services for Wednesday 7 March 2018 are as follows:

Caithness and North Sutherland: The A836 Lairg to Tongue road is still closed as both ploughs needing to sort out laybys on their return journey. There is still up to 3-4 feet of drifting snow on parts of the route. Other North routes have up to 4" of lying snow on high parts with slushy conditions on lower routes. No other problems reported and treatment is on-going by priority. Caithness is staying mild and the only action required is on slushy high roads. No problems reported. As at 09:07

South Sutherland: The B9176 Struie Hill Road snow gates are still closed. The A836 Dalchork Junction - Tongue road is also still closed until the plough's manage to clear all the snow drifts. Most routes are affected by snow cover on higher sections. All are being patrolled and treated as necessary in order of priority. As at 08:53

Ross and Cromarty: Lingering soft wet snow from the previous night is affecting stretches on most routes but not causing any problem. The Bealach road closed on the previous night due to high winds and drifting snow is expected to be re-opened later today. Roads in Ward 7 around the Fearn area are affected by flooding. The Fearn to Balintore road was closed through the night and drainage work is being carried out this morning. The B9176 Struie Road at Ardross Bridge is currently closed due to a landslide. A diversion is in place via Alness. 07:34

Badenoch and Strathspey: There is 1 to 2 cms of snow and frosty patches across all roads so treatment is being carried out as necessary. Fog laying across the area. As at 07:46

Nairn: The B9007 Ferness to Duthil road has a dusting of snow and a slight sparkle so has been treated with salt as necessary. Other roads are wet and have no issues. As at 07:56

Lochaber: Roads in the main damp three routes have been treated. The rest of the Primary and secondary routes are reported clear No overnight incidents reported. As at 08:17

Highland has the longest road network of any council in Scotland and it is not possible to treat every road at the same time. A priority system is applied to treat the areas in greatest need first.

Trunk roads are gritted by BEAR Scotland (North West) for Transport Scotland.

School Closures:

As at 09.30am this morning no Highland schools are closed today due to the weather but the following are closed due to issues with water, heating or power.

St Clement's School& Nursery

Strathgarve Primary

For a list of the school affected and to get updates throughout the day please visit the school closures website for up-to-date information - https://www.highland.gov.uk/schoolclosures

The page is updated from 7am and cleared each evening by 6pm. Get alerts of closures on Highland Council's Twitter and Facebook. Or phone 0800 564 2272 to get the latest pre-recorded message from head teachers regarding their school.

Have the school's PIN ready when you call.