£10m to be spent on improving Scotland’s roads

An extra £10 million will be spent on improving trunk roads in Scotland.

Transport Scotland is making the extra investment with new funds allocated as part of the 2013/2014 budget. Transport Scotland’s operating companies are fitting the extra work into their current maintenance programmes for the trunk road network.

In the north, the A90 at Stonehaven will be resurfaced and in the south, major repairs are being made to the Dumfries bypass. In terms of bridges, works include upgraded parapets on structures from the A1 to the M90 and replacement bridge joints on the M8, M80, M9 and A90.

The money is in addition to already planned maintenance carried-out by BEAR Scotland and Scotland Transerv on behalf of Transport Scotland. This has seen major improvements across the country this financial year including refurbishment schemes on the Erskine and Kessock Bridges, safety improvements on the A9 such as the new lighting scheme at Aucherarder as well as resurfacing the M74 near Strathclyde Park.

Transport Minister Keith Brown said: “This extra investment will help us address some of the issues on road surfaces and structures across the country. It is something that drivers feel strongly about and we are responding to their concerns by using this money where it is required most.

“The work is in addition to the routine maintenance that will continue to be carried-out by our operating companies and the extra investment underlines our commitment to improving our major A class roads and motorways to support national and local economies.

“We have invested over £2.5 billion on our roads and motorways since 2007. In 2013/14 we are investing over £700m which will ensure we continue to deliver an extensive maintenance and improvement programme with road safety a key priority.”