End in sight for much-needed upgrade work at Inverness hospital car park
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Work to upgrade the car parking bays at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness is hoped to be completed before Christmas.
Motorists were warned of reduced spaces during the work when the project – including a complete resurfacing, new lighting and CCTV upgrade – started at the end of July.
It was originally expected to last 18 weeks but some of the work will not be finished until next month.
A spokeswoman for Raigmore Hospital, which has more than 1100 parking bays, said: "Weather permitting, all car park bays will be completed by December 20. The final road markings, barrier works and landscaping will be carried out in January 2024."
Through relining and realigning, the number of bays is being increased by more than 100, including doubling the number of bays for disabled motorists.
When announced in the summer, it was planned for the work to be carried out in eight phases, with car park attendants in place directing people where to park.
NHS Highland said it was making efforts to keep disruption to a minimum, including making as many patient appointments as possible available on Near Me to reduce the need to go into the hospital site and encouraging staff to work at home if they were able to do so.
It stated at the time: "We are also asking staff and visitors, who are able to leave the car at home, use public transport or other available options which will help leave space for those who have no other choice than to take their car.
"There is a regular bus service from the city centre and car parking is available in Rose Street car park.
"We are sorry for the temporary disruption and inconvenience this will cause but the work will bring much-needed improvements to our car park."
Five years ago, regional Conservative MSP Edward Mountain launched the Raigmore Parking Campaign which included a petition calling for improvements.
