Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Highlands and Islands
Date 2007
Event ID 932438
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/932438
Loch Treig Dam
(Institute Civil Engineers Historic Engineering Works no. HEW 1435)
Work on the second stage of the Lochaber scheme included building dams to increase the water storage capacity of both Loch Treig and Loch Laggan.
The level of Loch Treig was raised 35 ft by the construction of a 400 ft long rock-fill dam built across the river Treig about 14 mile from the north end of the Loch. This was an early example of a rock-fill dam, and it accorded its engineer international attention. The use of such dams is limited in Highland Scotland because the rocks locally available are often unsuitable schists. The dam, in raising the level of Loch Treig, became the principal reservoir of the scheme and necessitated the diversion of the West Highland Railway for a distance of about 112 miles where it skirted
the Loch.About 1000 men were employed on the construction of the dams. Those working on the Laggan Dam had accommodation at Roughburn camp adjacent to the site whilst those working at Loch Treig were housed at Fersit halfway between the dam sites. Work on both dams was
completed in 1934. The consulting engineer was William Halcrow, and the main contractor was Balfour Beatty & Co. Ltd.
R Paxton and J Shipway, 2007.
Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Highlands and Islands' with kind permission from Thomas Telford Publishers.
