Sound Of Barra Integrated Transport Project
Aird Mhor - 27 October 2001
There were a number of developments, major and minor, in the week up to Saturday October 27.
Nationally, there were announcements of additional public funding to provide a new ferry for the Sound of Harris route enabling the existing Loch Bhrusda ferry to be transferred to the Sound of Barra in mid 2003 and to pay for additional ferry terminal facilities at Aird Mhor and Ceann a' Gharaidh in addition to road improvements on Eriskay and on Barra.
Locally, the existing passenger ferry started to sail from Ceann a' Gharaidh on 22nd October meaning the start of car traffic across Eriskay to the new port. In addition, CnES landscape architect Robert Stubbington joined children from Eriskay School in planting wildflower seeds which the youngsters had collected. The seeds were scattered on the land around the new ferry terminal as part of the landscape management project which aims to make the area look as natural as possible as quickly as possible.
Work along the new road on Barra leading to the new ferry terminal at Aird Mhor also continued with four more blasts of explosive, three on the approach road as it cuts back towards the existing roadway, and one in the rock source beside the road on Wednesday. A helicopter delivered explosives from Inverness on Wednesday morning. Drilling also continued on the road route so that drilling and blasting in the approach road is approximately 75 per cent complete.
Meanwhile, it was decided that the breakwater is to be extended by a further 30m to a length of 175m from the shore . Armour has been placed to outer and inner slopes for 125m from the shore. Breakwater at low level is 50 per cent complete by volume.
On the slipway concreting continues. all three toe beams, 4 out of 9 berthing walls and 4 (22 per cent of total area) slabs poured. There are three tracked excavators and two articulated dump trucks on site.
Personnel: 22 total, of which 10 are resident in the Western Isles.
Weather: Wet and Windy.