The ferry plies across Loch Linnhe at the Corran Narrows and is an integral link to the Morvern and Ardnamurchan peninsulas.

Highland Council says that more than £650,000 of remedial work is needed at the eastern slipway, earmarked for May/June. It will mean a huge increase in traffic on the A861 single-track road from Ardgour along the western shore of Loch Linnhe then Loch Eil-side before joining the main A830 Mallaig to Fort William road.

Sunart, Acharacle, West Ardnamurchan and Morvern community councils issued a joint statement yesterday saying: “The closure of the Corran Ferry to us is equivalent to shutting down the Forth road and rail bridges, the M1 or the London ring road for a month. It would not be tolerated there and it should not be tolerated here.”

They say that the huge detour is not their main concern. “We can cope with that, but we are not prepared to accept the risk to life and limb and the economic consequences for our communities, that such a poorly thought-out proposal presents. Few, if any, contingency plans seem to have been put in place with regard to the emergency services fire, ambulance, medical and police.”

According to the community councils, the A861 has few passing places and is physically in-capable of accepting the volume of local and visitor traffic.

“In May and June last year, there were around 1000 vehicles per day carried on the Corran Ferry and we have serious and justified concerns about the safety of using such a road. Gridlock will be a daily event and the emergency services would find it impossible to access any incident which, as is inevitable, were to take place along the route.

“Astonishingly, by their own admission, Highland Council acknowledges that no risk assessment has been carried out on the use of this road to carry all the ferry traffic in both directions. We have photographic evidence of one bridge on the A861 Locheil-side road which is supported by a row of acro-props. Do they really believe that this can carry in excess of 1000

vehicles per day up to the size of articulated timber lorries?

A spokesman for Highland Council said carrying out the work without a suspension of the ferry operation was not

feasible adding that the council had been in discussion with the emergency services to develop contingency plans.