Road Safety is Top Priority as Major Works Continue on Central Scotland's Motorway Network
The reminder comes as works on the £500m M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project continue to progress with more traffic management required on the main routes and with the onset of winter weather bringing challenging hazardous driving conditions.
Graeme Reid, project manager for the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project, said:
“The safety of road users and the operatives working alongside the live carriageways is our top priority and use of the traffic management and safety cameras supports this objective.
“We are working closely with the contractor to minimise delays, however, on a project of this scale and complexity, and with more traffic management on the main routes, difficult driving conditions due to bad weather and shorter periods of natural light, some delays are inevitable.
“Road Safety Week (23-29 Nov) provides an ideal opportunity to remind motorists to adhere to the speed limits and allow extra time to get to their destination. It’s also worth checking the Transport Scotland website regularly for the latest traffic management information, as well as the Traffic Scotland website for live traffic up-dates.”
Scottish Roads Partnership (SRP), the company responsible for the design, build, finance and operation of the project, which includes the completion of the M8 from Glasgow to Edinburgh, has progressed the majority of the M8 upgrade works off-line with minimal disruption to A8 traffic since last summer. However, this complex project has now reached the point where more and more traffic management is required.
Graeme Reid, project manager for the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project, said:
“The majority of works have taken place off the existing roads so far. Regular commuters travelling between Glasgow and Edinburgh may be surprised to learn that more than a third of the new M8 carriageway has already been constructed within the site boundary.
“The same is true on stretches of the M73 and M74, where as much of the works as possible have been carried out with minimal disruption to the 100,000 vehicles using these routes every day. However, some impact on these routes is now unavoidable, during the morning and evening commute, particularly in the vicinity of the M74 Raith Junction.
To reflect the significant increase in construction works, average speed safety cameras were installed on the M74 in both directions, between Junction 3 Carmyle and Junction 6 Hamilton, and will now be rolled out on the M73 and A8/M8 in the coming weeks.
Graeme added: “The biggest challenge we have is keeping the high volume of traffic already using these heavily congested routes and junctions moving. However, our experience of previous roadworks has shown that the cameras encourage a safe and steady traffic flow by monitoring the average speed of vehicles through the works.“
When complete, the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project will significantly reduce congestion across the central Scotland motorway network, as well as improve the travel time reliability between the main route of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Road users travelling on the new M8 between the two cities will benefit by shaving almost 20 minutes off the daily commute, while 15 minutes will be saved travelling through the new Raith Junction.
Traffic management layouts will change regularly, therefore road users are advised to routinely check the Transport Scotland website and the Traffic Scotland website for live updates; www.transportscotland.gov.uk and www.trafficscotland.org
For the latest advice on preparing and dealing with the effects of severe winter weather, visit www.transportscotland.gov.uk/ready-winter
M8 M73 M74 Major Traffic Management Schemes in the coming months:
- B7071 Bellshill Road, Bothwell - partial closure (southbound) for the month of November with no access to Bothwell or Hamilton from Raith, Junction 5 of the M74 and the A725. These works will be followed by the full closure of the B7071 in both directions for a weekend 27 – 30 Nov.
- A725 Raith Roundabout - lane reduction from the end of October for approx. 11 weeks.
- A725 north and southbound, Shawhead Junction to Raith Junction - lane closures, contraflows, diversions and speed restrictions will be in place from the end of October, including the closure of (B7070) North Road, Bellshill, scheduled for January 2016 – date to be confirmed.
- M74 northbound Junction 5 Raith - contraflow switching to the southbound carriageway from end of November 2015.
- M73 Junction 1 Maryville to Junction 2 Baillieston – north and southbound, lane closures, contraflows, speed restrictions and slip road closures.
- A8 Chapelhall to Newhouse eastbound – traffic will be transferred from A8 to the new All Purpose Road mid-December . This will be preceded by a period of closures and diversions of the Chapelhall and Newhouse slip roads.
Delays are expected for the duration of the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project and you are advised to plan journeys in advance and allow extra time to get to your destination.