The million-pound bollard: Piece of road furniture on tight corner causes havoc for bad drivers who keep striking it

Bollard is believed to have caused damage worth 'hundreds of thousands'



Council says it frequently has to send crews to reset the bollard

Is believed many incidents go unreported as drivers fear being hit with bill

A bollard is thought to have caused damage worth 'hundreds of thousands of pounds' after being hit by dozens of drivers.

Dubbed 'The Million-Pound Bollard', the piece of road furniture keeps traffic clear of the corner and protects pedestrians but is also continually being struck by cars and HGVs.

To avoid the bollard, drivers in Merkinch, Inverness, must swing out on to the opposite side of the road, or they end up hitting it.

Hazard: The bollard has been struck by dozens of drivers and is thought to have caused damage worth 'hundreds of thousands'

In the way: Drivers are forced to veer on to the other side of the road as they try to avoid the bollard

Highland Council says it frequently has to send crews to reset the bollard and admits it has received damage claims from motorists.

Many incidents are believed to go unreported however because drivers fear being hit with a bill to repair the bollard.

'It must have caused hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage,' said the Rev Richard Burkitt, who can see the bollard which sits outside his charity shop For The Right Reasons.

'Something needs to be done about it. I have certainly hit it myself and anyone visiting the area will as well.



Close call: Highland Council admits it has received damage claims from motorists.

'You’ve got a problem that if you over-shoot the corner trying to avoid the bollard then you end up on the opposite side of the road. In fact just yesterday morning I was driving behind someone who hit it and didn’t stop. No one reports it because they fear they might have to pay to replace it.

'There is definitely a problem there with vehicles going up on to the pavement but the council needs to come up with a more imaginative solution. I don’t see why they keep putting it back up.'

The bollard was installed after several lorries travelling down Nelson Street hit buildings while negotiating the corner.

Councillor Richard Laird said he and the other central ward councillors had received complaints from constituents.

Safety feature: The bollard was installed after several lorries travelling down the street hit buildings while negotiating the corner

He said: 'There is a traffic order proposed making it right-turn only for vehicles over seven-and-a-half tonnes.

'We will then see if a bollard is required. People have been hitting it for some time and it was put in as the junction is not quite safe. If lorries can hit a building down there then it is likely they could hit a child.'

A council spokesman said it was considering junction improvements at Grant Street and Nelson Street costing £30,000. He was unable to say how much repairs to the bollard had cost or what had been paid out in damages.