A77 emergency works continue

15 December 2014

A dedicated team has been working carrying out emergency restoration works on a busy stretch of the A77, following three recent landslips.

Scotland TranServ, on behalf of Transport Scotland has drafted in its specialist geotechnical engineers to carry out the works to three sections of the A77 between Cairnryan and Shalloch Roundabout in Girvan ensuring it is safe to reopen to motorists. The team has also been busy carrying out inspections on the landscape and drainage at all the landslip sites.

Temporary traffic lights have been managing the traffic flow along the A77 to enable engineers to assess the sites and it is expected that these will remain in place until early next year. Scotland TranServ is also currently working on plans to carry out permanent repairs later in 2015 which will help to prevent future landslips.

Russell Rennie, contract director, Scotland TranServ commented:

“Our geotechnical engineers are working hard to carry out emergency repairs at each of the landslip sites over the shortest time possible.

“Although delays are inevitable the safety of motorists and local residents is of the utmost priority. We thank the local community for their patience during this time.”

Operatives cleared almost 360 tonnes of rubble from the road during early November, following a bout of heavy rain which overwhelmed the surrounding landscape.

Weather response in full swing

With the cold temperatures experienced this weekend expected to continue into next week, Transport Minister Derek Mackay has visited a salt depot near Glasgow to see the preparations that are being made for the wintry weather.

Gritters have already been out on trunk roads across the country in recent days in response to the winter conditions and Mr Mackay saw salt being loaded onto some of the state of the art spreaders used by the Scotland Transerv team at Polmadie.

He also took part in discussions with the Met Office, Police Scotland, Traffic Scotland and the Trunk Road Operating Companies, to ensure that the response to the current yellow weather warning for snow is as co-ordinated and effective as possible.

On a wider basis, agencies and organisations are working together to put their response plans into gear to manage the impacts of the conditions.

The Scottish Government’s Ready for Winter campaign draws all of these efforts together to offer information and advice on the simple steps that people, businesses and communities can take to prepare for and reduce the risks of winter weather.

Transport Minister, Derek Mackay said:

“While this weather is not unusual in Scotland at this time of year, some areas are seeing their first snowfall of the season.

“The efforts being made by the team here at Scotland Transerv are being replicated by the Trunk Road Operating Companies across the country and the focused response to weather events will continue throughout the winter.

“We have more salt in stock today than we used across the whole of last year and our winter control rooms are monitoring conditions 24/7 ensure the winter fleet are treating and patrolling where and when they are needed.

“Motorists can see details of where and when the gritters will be in operation through the interactive winter treatments map on the Traffic Scotland website and the latest live information on conditions is available on the Traffic Scotland Twitter feed, smartphone App, internet radio and website.

“The Scottish Government’s annual preparedness campaign, Ready for Winter, is a good reminder of the simple actions we can all take to be prepared. It urges motorists to check conditions before they travel, leave some extra time for their journeys and make sure their vehicle is well maintained with an emergency kit.

“So far this year, the campaign has visited 31 communities across the country, giving advice to 36,000 members of the public. Its posts on Twitter have reached 360,000 people and the Readyscotland app has been downloaded more than 2,000 times. Lots of useful information on how we can all take an hour to prepare for winter is available at Readyscotland.org.”