Rebuilding of historic Allt Mor bridge under way

Any traffic wishing to cross between the east and west sides of the island during this time must divert either via the Ross road, the north end or the south end. The signposted diversion uses the north end road from Blackwaterfoot to Brodick, avoiding the easily congested single track Machrie Moor road.

Motorists needing to traverse across the island are having to plan their journeys and factor in additional travelling time since the diversion can quadruple the usual 15 minute journey time between Brodick and Blackwaterfoot. When travelling by car, the diversionary route can take approximately one hour for the north end route, 50 minutes for the south end route and 45 minutes if traffic is favourable on the single-track Ross road.

The bridge repair was originally scheduled for later in the month, however, it was postponed owing to concerns about Arran High School exams that are taking place. The rescheduled works means that only students undertaking geography, biology, music and English exams will be affected. If the bridge repairs are finished in the forecast timescale, school bus journey times should return to normal for exams scheduled in May.

James Mcfarlane, roads technician for North Ayrshire Council, explained that a full road closure is necessary for this type of repair. He said: “Due to the nature of [the bridge repairs], legislation requires that in the interest of safety, this restriction must be put in place for the works duration.”

“North Ayrshire Council neighbourhood services would like to thank you for your patience in this matter” he added.

Updates on road closures on Arran can be found online at north-ayrshire.gov.uk/roads-and-parking/roadworks-and-road-closures