Sheriffhall upgrade plans now on display

Exciting new active travel facilities revealed for roundabout scheme

The upgrade of the Sheriffhall roundabout on the Edinburgh City Bypass will include a new flyover, an enlarged eight arm roundabout and enhanced active travel facilities consisting of nearly 2 miles of segregated shared surface for pedestrians and cyclists and five subways linking up to all local roads served by the new Sheriffhall roundabout.

Following the publication of draft orders for the A720 Sheriffhall roundabout scheme earlier this month, local communities and road users will get a chance to see the plans at public exhibitions today and tomorrow.

Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity Michael Matheson said:

“Sheriffhall roundabout is the only at-grade junction on the A720 Edinburgh City Bypass and is a well-known bottleneck, often the scene of significant queuing particularly at morning and evening peak times.

“The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering improvements at this busy junction and having undertaken detailed development and assessment of the preferred option, we published draft orders for the scheme earlier this month.

“The scheme design will see a new flyover arrangement for traffic travelling on the City Bypass, separating local traffic from the strategic traffic on the bypass and will allow the traffic on the bypass to flow freely, improving road safety and journey times for all road users.

“As part of our commitment to improve active travel facilities across the country, our plans for the scheme also include nearly 2 miles of active travel routes with five dedicated subways under the new roundabout providing links to nearby NMU (non-motorised user) routes. This means that cyclists and pedestrians will no longer have to compete with road traffic when negotiating the busy junction but instead will have their own safer dedicated alternative for accessing the nearby NMU routes and local roads served by the roundabout, transforming the way they cross the city bypass.

“I would encourage as many people as possible to attend the exhibitions today and tomorrow to see our proposals or view the material online and give us their views.”

Cllr Adam McVey, Convener of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal Joint Committee, said:

“We are determined to promote sustainable transport and to see facilities for public transport, cyclists and pedestrians significantly improved.

“This investment is a huge opportunity and I would encourage everyone with an interest in the scheme to come along to this week’s exhibitions to see them in detail and share their views.”

Details of the public exhibitions are as follows:

Wednesday 18 December 2019 - 12 noon – 7 pm

St Nicholas Buccleuch Parish Church,
119 High Street,
Dalkeith EH22 1AX

Thursday 19 December 2019 - 12 noon – 7 pm

Sheriffhall Park and Ride Terminal,
Old Dalkeith Road,
Dalkeith EH22 1FF

The draft orders, environmental statement and the exhibition material are available to view from the Transport Scotland website