Undersea tunnels designed to connect the Shetland Islands are expected to be approved by councillors on Tuesday, promising a major overhaul of inter-island transport.
Shetland Islands Council will discuss a draft strategy proposing a tunnel from the mainland to Yell, and another extending to Unst. Two further tunnels could potentially link Whalsay and Bressay.
The four proposed tunnels, estimated at £1.5 billion, would replace inter-island ferry services.
Currently, the islands’ ferry service, described as “the social and economic backbone”, operates 12 vessels making 70,000 annual sailings to nine islands, carrying 750,000 passengers.
However, there are fears about the age of the ferry fleet which links the islands.
Under an indicative timeline published by the council, the tunnels would open in 2034.
Councillor Moraig Lyall is chairwoman of the council’s environment and transport committee.
She said earlier: “It’s fair to say that this project is now of great significance nationally, as well as locally.
“Tunnels were on the list of priorities for all the main political parties in the run-up to the Holyrood elections, evidence of the great strides we have made in getting this issue onto the agenda at a national level.
“We continue to engage with both the UK and Scottish Governments as we look towards taking forward the recommendations of this in-depth study.”
