SECTION 1 – TRANSPORT SCOTLAND’S HIGH WIND STRATEGY

The incidences of high wind on exposed sections of any road network can result in severe disruption and danger to road users. There are a number of locations throughout Scotland where the effect of high wind has had adverse consequences on congestion, the safety of the travelling public, journey time reliability and on the economies of the affected area and the country as a whole.

Transport Scotland, the national transport authority and an agency of the Scottish Government, has developed robust and proportionate wind management procedures with its Operating Companies and the local polices forces for a number of sections of the trunk road network. However, it is recognised that the severe disruption and inherent danger to road users caused by high wind can occur anywhere on the Scottish road network. Indeed, the two existing Scottish non-trunk bridge boards (Tay Road Bridge Joint Board and the Forth Estuary Transport Authority) operate site specific procedures to manage the impact of high wind on their associated structures.

As part of its commitment to improving journey time reliability by reducing congestion and increasing safety, Transport Scotland is implementing its strategy for managing the impacts of high winds on the trunk road network. Through analysis of meteorological and incident data, coupled with stakeholder consultation, the agency will undertake regular reviews of the network to identify locations where they determine that wind management procedures require to be developed in accordance with the guidelines detailed within this document.

To assist in this process, Transport Scotland has commissioned the Met Office to prepare a set of model results which identify the comparative mean wind speeds and gusts speeds for the whole of the motorway and trunk road network and also the
A-class local authority roads. This analysis is based upon various wind speed and gust analyses using historical wind data from 1971 to 2000. Transport Scotland can then use this information to assist in identifying other parts of the network where procedures may be required. These model results will be made available to all local authorities in Scotland as information for their consideration (see Appendix D of this document).

Additionally, to address the issue of differing procedures in Scotland, Transport Scotland has established the ‘Scottish High Wind Strategy Forum’. This group includes representation from the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS), individual police forces and the aforementioned bridge boards. The aim of this group is to examine the current procedures and operational requirements to identify opportunities for improvement and development of commonality, both in terms of monitoring and response.

By undertaking the above actions and continuing to tackle the issues of incident management and climate change, Transport Scotland believes that this strategy robustly and proportionately addresses the issue of managing the impact of high winds on the Scottish trunk road network.