Scottish Conservative politicians have welcomed an announcement from BEAR Scotland that one lane of the St Madoes flyover should be re-opened by the end of this week.
The organisation behind the trunk road network of Scotland has confirmed to Murdo Fraser MSP that delivery and installation of a temporary barrier should take place following further safety checks.
Mr Fraser, who represents the Mid Scotland and Fife region, and Councillor Angus Forbes, who represents the Carse of Gowrie ward, have both been contacted by irate local residents who had said the closing of the flyover was causing a major inconvenience.
The fly-over has been closed since October 31, when a lorry hauling a crane crashed into its underside on the A90 Perth to Dundee road. A water main was also hit, knocking out the water supply to some residents.
At the time of the accident, Police Scotland said the flyover would be closed for “the foreseeable future.” However, BEAR Scotland responded to Mr Fraser’s query on whether a timescale had been established for the re-opening of the flyover and confirmed that one lane should be open by the end of this week.
Commenting, Mr Fraser said: “I very much welcome this announcement from BEAR Scotland as many constituents had contacted me to say they were concerned that the flyover had been closed for five weeks. They said this had caused a major inconvenience as it meant motorists have been forced to use the flyover at Glendoick to get to and from St Madoes, and this had added more time to their journey.
“The constituents I spoke with wanted to know if there was a timescale for the re-opening of the flyover and we have now been told that one lane should be open by the end of this week, which is good news.
“This was a major incident so many local residents will be relieved to know that work is progressing to fix the St Madoes flyover.”
And Councillor Forbes added: “This problem has caused a lot of anxiety for local residents and led to many having to use the Glendoick flyover as an alternative, but longer, way of travelling to and from their house.
“I know that some local businesses have also suffered during this time of closure. It’s good to hear that BEAR Scotland is arranging for the installation of temporary barriers on the flyover, which will allow one side of it to re-open to motorists.
“They told my Conservative colleague, Murdo Fraser, that the delivery and installation of the barrier is in progress and that they expect one lane of the flyover to re-open to traffic by the end of this week, following further safety checks.
“The closing of the flyover has caused disruption for local residents but hopefully it won’t be too long now before the flyover is fully open again to motorists.
“I have asked Bear Scotland to consider traffic lights on the open lane on the flyover.”
A spokesperson for BEAR Scotland commented: “Our teams have been working in liaison with Scottish Water to complete repairs to the areas around the bridge damaged following the bridge strike in late October. Engineers are also progressing with designs for repairs to the structure.
“Whilst the bridge has required to remain closed for safety, our team is arranging for the installation of temporary barriers on the overbridge which will protect the damaged areas under the bridge deck and allow one side of the structure to reopen to motorists.
“Delivery and installation of the barrier is in progress with teams expecting to open one lane of the overbridge to traffic at the end of this week following further safety checks.
“We’ll continue to liaise with stakeholders to keep them informed on the project.”