The causeway was constructed between 1989 and 1991, and provides a direct link between Vatersay, the most southerly inhabited island of the Outer Hebrides, and Barra. Before its inception, the island was reachable only via a passenger ferry from Castlebay, making the transportation of goods, cattle, or vehicles arduous, necessitating the hiring of private boats.
The Vatersay Causeway from Beinn Tangabhal
Historical background and need for the causeway
The Vatersay Causeway
The effects of the Highland Clearances reduced Vatersay's population to a mere 13 inhabitants by 1901. However, immigration from Barra and Mingulay subsequently caused a surge in the population, culminating in a peak of 288 residents by 1911. The population continued to fluctuate, reaching a low of 65 in 1988.[1][2]
Prior to 1989, Vatersay stood as the sole inhabited Hebridean Island without a vehicular ferry or causeway. Other small islands that lacked causeways were served by relatively modern ferries, subsidised by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.[3][4] A service for Scalpay was operated by Caledonian MacBrayne, which operated ferries to the mainland of Scotland and between other islands. Conversely, the ferries servicing Berneray and Eriskay were directly run by the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.[1]
Transportation to and from Vatersay was predominantly facilitated through a passenger launch which travelled between the northern part of the island and Castlebay. The journey was often affected by rough sea conditions. From 1975, a single-vehicle ferry operated, but was discontinued in 1977 as it was deemed unsuitable. From that point onwards, transportation of heavy goods relied on hired vessels.[5]
Commencing in 1983, The Vatersay Co-operative (Scottish Gaelic: Co-Chomunn Bhatarsaidh) made use of a barge provided by the Highlands and Islands Development Board to transport livestock. However, once this barge was decommissioned, the previous practice of swimming cattle[6] between islands was revived. This method was abandoned after an incident in 1987, where a bull drowned in the Sound of Vatersay.
Following this incident, and with no other safe means for transport of livestock available, crofters began hiring boats to transport their sheep, while cattle transportation became dependent on a barge provided by the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar as the demand for a fixed crossing intensified.[1]
The Barra and Vatersay Council of Social Service and the Vatersay Community Council had begun campaigning for renewed vehicular access in the late 1970s, and this campaign continued into the 1980s, with four options being considered:
a vehicular ferry on the same route as the passenger ferry.
a new road on Barra, with a ferry service across the Sound of Vatersay at the shortest crossing point.
a bridge.
a causeway.
The debate on the preferred method also included discussions around Vatersay's status as a tombolo, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and the loss of navigation in the Sound.[5][7] A short-crossing ferry option was rejected because of the cost of a deepwater terminal in the Sound of Vatersay, and the need for the ship to visit Castlebay in any case, for bunkering. A bridge would also have incurred high construction and maintenance costs. After considerable debate, a simple causeway was the option selected.[1][8][9]
Negotiations between the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, the Scottish Development Department, and the Secretary of State for Scotland concluded in 1984, with agreement to provisionally support the building of a causeway, on the condition that a hydrographic survey and tidal calculations did not reveal any insurmountable obstacles. These issues were resolved, and in 1986 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar agreed to provide the causeway subject to additional capital being made available, and Parliamentary Approval being obtained.[1][10]
The Western Isles Islands Council (Vatersay Causeway) Order Confirmation Act 1987 empowered the Comhairle to proceed, with the £3.7million cost met by funding from the European Regional Development Fund (50%), the Scottish Development Department (25%) and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (25%).[11]
Design and Construction
The location of the causeway, across a 250-metre-wide gap with a minimum water depth of 11 metres, presented challenging design and construction conditions. The Sound of Vatersay links the Atlantic Ocean on one side with the Sea of the Hebrides on the other, with very strong tidal currents active at all states of the tide.[10][12]
The contract for the construction of the causeway was awarded to R.J. McLeod (Contractors) Ltd. in 1989. The works took 18 months to complete and included a new two-kilometre access road across Barra. A total of 220,000 tonnes of rock was used for the construction of the causeway, with a local quarry at Beinn Tangabhal used as the primary source. The causeway was completed and fully opened to traffic in July 1991.[1][10][13][14]
The completion of the causeway formed part of a series of fixed links built between the many islands which make up the Outer Hebrides, including the Eriskay causeway, completed in 2001.[15][16]
The Outer Hebrides or Western Isles, sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. The islands form part of the archipelago of the Hebrides, separated from the Scottish mainland and from the Inner Hebrides by the waters of the Minch, the Little Minch, and the Sea of the Hebrides. The Outer Hebrides are considered to be the traditional heartland of the Gaelic language. The islands form one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, which since 1998 has used only the Gaelic form of its name, including in English language contexts. The council area is called Na h-Eileanan an Iar and its council is Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.
Harris is the southern and more mountainous part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Although not an island itself, Harris is often referred to in opposition to the Isle of Lewis as the Isle of Harris, which is the former postal county and the current post town for Royal Mail postcodes starting HS3 or HS5.
Barra is an island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and the second southernmost inhabited island there, after the adjacent island of Vatersay to which it is connected by the Vatersay Causeway.
Eriskay, from the Old Norse for "Eric's Isle", is an island and community council area of the Outer Hebrides in northern Scotland with a population of 143, as of the 2011 census. It lies between South Uist and Barra and is connected to South Uist by a causeway which was opened in 2001. In the same year Ceann a' Ghàraidh in Eriskay became the ferry terminal for travelling between South Uist and Barra. The Caledonian MacBrayne vehicular ferry travels between Eriskay and Ardmore in Barra. The crossing takes around 40 minutes.
The island of Vatersay is the southernmost and westernmost inhabited island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, and the settlement of Caolas on the north coast of the island is the westernmost permanently inhabited place in Scotland. The main village, also called Vatersay, is in the south of the island.
Berneray is an island and community in the Sound of Harris, Scotland. It is one of fifteen inhabited islands in the Outer Hebrides. It is famed for its rich and colourful history which has attracted much tourism. It lies within the South Lewis, Harris and North Uist National Scenic Area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development.
Balivanich is a village on the island of Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. It is the main centre for Benbecula and the adjacent islands of North Uist, South Uist and several smaller islands. Balivanich is within the parish of South Uist.
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar is the local authority for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It is based in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis.
Ceann a' Ghàraidh is the location of the ferry terminal on the south-western side of the island of Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It provides a service across the Sound of Barra to Ardmore on the island of Barra The placename literally means "The head of the garden". This location is so called due to the presence of the old crofting boundary walls, which can no longer be seen.
The Outer Hebrides are a unique religious area in contemporary Scotland. The northern island is dominated by Calvinist 'free churches', and has been described as "the last bastion of Sabbath observance in the UK". It is also home to a unique form of Gaelic psalm singing known as precenting. The southern islands of South Uist and Barra are the last remnants of native pre-Reformation Scottish Catholicism. Barra was once dubbed "the island the Reformation did not reach".
MV Eilean Bhearnaraigh is a small passenger ferry built for the Outer Hebrides. After serving the monks on Papa Stronsay, she now operates in Southern Ireland as Sancta Maria.
Elections to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar were held on 3 May 2012, the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. The election was the second one using the 9 wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004. Each ward elected three or four Councillors using the single transferable vote system: a form of proportional representation. A total of 31 Councillors were elected.
The Sound of Barra is a large ocean inlet or sound situated to the north of the isle of Barra and to the south of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Since 2014 it has been designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The Sound of Barra is composed of 98.91% marine and inlet areas, 1.07% mudflats and other semi-submerged areas and 0.02% sea cliffs and islets. There are ten islands in the sound, with only Eriskay still being inhabited:
Barraigh, Bhatarsaigh, Eirisgeigh agus Uibhist a Deas was one of the nine wards of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Created in 2007, the ward elected four councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system. As a result of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, the ward was abolished in 2022.
MV Eilean Na H-Oige is a small passenger ferry built for the Outer Hebrides and now operating in Southern Ireland.
Barraigh agus Bhatarsaigh is one of the 11 wards of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Created in 2022, the ward elects two councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system and covers an area with a population of 1,308 people.
Uibhist a Deas, Èirisgeigh agus Beinn na Faoghla is one of the 11 wards of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Created in 2022, the ward elects three councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system and covers an area with a population of 3,067 people.
Na Hearadh is one of the 11 wards of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Created in 2022, the ward elects two councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system and covers an area with a population of 1,795 people.
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