Repairs to bridge set to last for six weeks
A vital Perthshire bridge will be subjected to a series of overnight road closures for up to six weeks due to essential repair works.
The major project for the M90 Friarton Bridge got underway yesterday (March 12).
The work will involve repairs to a short section of the reinforced concrete edge beam on the southbound carriageway which supports the bridge parapet.
The scheme is designed as a trial repair in advance of wider maintenance work to the full structure.
The majority of the project will be completed overnight between 7.30pm and 5am.
A single lane closure on the southbound carriageway will be in place every night to allow works to be carried out safely.
The southbound carriageway will be closed over two consecutive weekends with traffic diverted to the northbound carriageway via a contraflow system.
This is to allow a temporary safety barrier to be installed, narrow lanes to be implemented and an access platform to be connected to the outer edge of the structure.
The contraflow system will be in place from 8pm on Friday, March 13 until 6am on Sunday, March 15 as well as from 8pm on Friday, March 20 until 6am on Sunday, March 22.
During peak periods, motorists could face delays of up to 20 minutes.
During the day the southbound carriageway will remain open with narrow lanes and a 30mph speed restriction in place on approach to the structure and across the bridge itself.
The northbound carriageway will remain unaffected during the majority of the work with the exception of the weekend contraflows.
A third weekend contraflow is scheduled for the end of the project to remove the safety measures from the worksite and return the bridge to normal operation.
This is currently planned to start on Friday, April 24.
Commenting on the project, Andy
Thompson, BEAR Scotland’s north east representative, said: “This maintenance work at Friarton Bridge is an important step towards developing a repair strategy for the whole structure.
“The traffic management is essential to keep everyone safe during this project, and this may lead to some potential delays to journey times. To minimise any impact to road users as much as possible we’re carrying out all construction at night with the disruptive mobilisation works limited to a small number of weekends, and teams will do all they can to complete the works as quickly and safely as they can.
“We encourage all road users to follow any advance warning signs and traffic management which is in place for their safety as well as that of our teams.
“We thank motorists for their patience while we carry out this essential work and encourage them to plan their journeys in advance by checking the Traffic Scotland website and allowing some extra time to reach their destination.”
Real time journey information is available from Traffic Scotland on www.trafficscotland.org, twitter at @trafficscotland or the mobile site my.trafficscotland.org