A LOW-FLYING helicopter will be used later this month to string ropes between pylons along the next stretch of the controversial Beauly- Denny powerline.
SSE said it was making good progress on its section of the 137-mile line and is moving into a new phase of the works to the south of Fort Augustus.
The pylons have been erected there and preparations are starting for the installation of the wires. The aircraft will be used for this, and will be operating in the Fort Augustus area between May 13 and 16.
Weather permitting, the helicopter will be used to fly lightweight ropes between the pylons. Seven ropes are needed along the 2.5-mile length. The ropes are attached to a heavy-duty winch in preparation for the next stage, to pull heavy wires over the route.
Then the 12 aluminium electrical overhead wires and a single earthwire are to be pulled into their final positions.
As the helicopter crosses small roads, pathways and the Caledonian Canal, members of the public may be stopped for a maximum of 30 minutes to ensure their safety. The helicopter will be flying approximately 50 metres from the ground when pulling the ropes.
John Buchan, overhead line project manager, said: "We have planned the operations to ensure that the safety of members of the public, and our staff, can be managed properly."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article