City centre lane set to close for seven weeks

MOTORISTS are set for more traffic misery with one lane of a busy city centre road set to close for seven weeks.

The work will take place on Riverside Drive, in front of the railway station, and will start on Monday.

The closure is part of the new station development and comes after Dundee motorists were hit by traffic chaos last week following a lane closure.

Following the congestion, Lynne Short, convener of the city council’s city development committee, assured residents there would not be a repeat of the gridlocked traffic.

However, fresh concerns have been raised about next week’s roadworks.

A spokesman for Dundee City Council said every effort would be made to minimise disruption.

He added: “The closure will maintain pedestrian access while allowing the hard landscaping at the new Dundee Railway Station concourse to be carried out on the existing footway.

“Every effort will be made to keep disruption to a minimum, but while work is going on we would urge drivers to leave more time for their journey or avoid the area.”

Bill Newcombe, chairman of the City Centre and Harbour Community Council, questioned why the works were due to take seven weeks.

He added: “It’s not a big area so if everything is ready and planned right, it should be able to be done quicker.

“When there has been a lane closure down by the Discovery before it has caused a number of problems for people.”

The closure follows a spate of roadworks across the city as the £1 billion waterfront revamp gets under way.

Earl Grey Place West will be closed for 55 weeks while South Union Street is also to be closed southbound for two weeks to allow set-up works.

The construction of a £15.5 million new office block on Site 6 at the Waterfront started last week.

The building is scheduled to be completed by March next year.

Speaking after last week’s traffic chaos, Councillor Short said the problems faced are unlikely to be ongoing.

A Dundee City Council spokesman said: “While development continues at the Waterfront it will be necessary from time to time to close or restrict streets in the area.

“These will be signposted in advance and feature on the council’s website.”

Meanwhile, also from Monday, Charleston Drive is set to close for eight weeks.

It is part of SGN’s £95,000 investment to upgrade the gas network.

The company will be replacing the old, metal gas mains with new plastic pipe to ensure a continued safe and reliable gas supply.

Traffic queued up on Princes Street last week.