MORE than 177,000 timber lorry journeys will be taken off some of Scotland's most fragile rural roads over the next ten years, the Scottish Government has announced. The reduction in heavy traffic - and four million tonnes of timber - is being carried out under the government's Strategic Timber Transport Scheme (STTS) to make communities quieter, safer and cleaner. The scheme was set up in 2005 and has distributed GBP14.1 million in grant support among 38 projects with an overall value of nearly GBP30m. Some areas are experiencing traffic from the 44-tonne lorries for the first time with forest harvesting coming on stream from maturing plantations. Projects aimed at off-setting disturbance include building new gravel roads through the forests to bypass villages or sections of fragile public road, diverting heavy traffic on to better roads or upgrading the fragile sections of road. The scheme has also funded projects to transport timber by sea from ports in argyll and from coastal forests at Glenelg and Loch Etive. Stewart Stevenson, the environment and climate change minister, said: "The scheme is proving to be very successful. The grants have drawn in an equivalent amount of f