Anger over green light for traffic lights on Argyll’s ‘Bridge over the Atlantic’

Traffic lights are to be installed beside the scenic Clachan Bridge on Scotland’s wild Argyll coast despite fears it will be a “desecration” of a nationally-significant heritage site. Known since the early 19th century as the “Bridge over the Atlantic” the 233-year-old crossing from the mainland to the Isle of Seil attracts visitors eager to boast of their trans-oceanic journey, but there are concerns motorists on green will soon act aggressively towards pedestrians on what is a much-photographed landmark. “There was no contact from the council,” fourth-generation islander Sarah Nicholson said. “We only found out about the plan when workmen started digging up the road.” The next traffic lights south will be 35 miles away in Lochgilphead, the base for Agyll and Bute council, which is spending at least £35,000 on the installation. Located 13 miles south-west of Oban and built in 1792, Clachan Bridge is a signposted tourist attraction, with visitors often getting out of cars and buses to walk over the narrow tidal channel that opens out into the north Atlantic. The footway on the humpback bridge fades to almost nothing, leaving pedestrians to share the narrow road with motorists who currently negotiate the crossing carefully. With a width barely able to cope with today’s SUVs, the council says it has to install traffic lights on the bridge for “road safety”. …