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Road scheme promises to help timber hauliers
Page 10
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• Scottish timber hauliers this week welcomed a scheme designed to stop their trucks damaging minor roads, A £2.5m project backed by the Forestry Commission aims to build new roads in order to protect fragile rural routes in Argyll from damage caused by heavy trucks. The money is to be spent on building 26.4km of new forest road, upgrading another 16.9km, building one new forestry bridge and strengthening 25km of existing public roads.
The Commission says that because the roads will improve, more timber will be carried and it hopes jobs will be created both in the forestry and haulage business.
Hauliers say the new roads could make their job easier and point out that most timber contracts instruct them which routes they must use, so their use of minor roads is not a matter of choice.
Calum McFadyen of McFadyens Transport, Carnpbeitown, says: "We deal direct with the timber merchant, who buys from the Forestry Commission, and the routes we have to take are clearly specified from the start.
"I'm OK with these changes as long as the proposed routes are up to standard. Of course we will be happy to drive on better roads, who wouldn't her However, Mcfadyen was more cynical about plans to use rail to carry more timber.
"Rail is an absolute shambles," he says. "Nearly every time you go to load trains they are not there, so we just have to dump the timber for someone to load whenever the train decides to turn up."