Highland Council Leader Drew Henry has been expressing concerns that commuters to Inverness are experiencing long delays caused by construction work at Kessock Bridge.

Councillor Hendry says he sought assurances from Transport Scotland and operators Scotland Transerv that an unplanned lane closure and the "absence of adequate communications" would not be a regular occurrence.

The delays were caused by work which is going on to construct a new slip lane on Stadium Road on to the Longman Roundabout.

Stadium Road was closed between 07:00 and 19:00 to allow the extra lane to be built.

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Contractor Scotland Transerv took the decision to extend the closure beyond 07:00 due to the proximity of excavation works to the carriageway.

Commuters were greeted with long tail backs and delays of up to two hours.

Councillor Hendry commented yesterday: "The travelling public deserve an unreserved apology from the contractors, for what happened this morning.

"This is a real wake up call for Transport Scotland ahead of the main resurfacing contract which begins on 11 February.

"Hundreds if not thousands of people have been inconvenienced by this unplanned closure.

"I appreciate there are safety issues involved but there was an absence of any warning to the public via radio or social media and this is not acceptable.

"I am sure that there must have been other options available to the contractor to secure the safety of drivers rather than closure of one lane at a peak time.

"The consequences of the closure could not have been fully considered."

(IT)