Relief Road benefits could be worth over £60m to community
SLC makes case for controversial project
A decision on the controversial Cathkin Relief Road is set to be made next Tuesday (September 8).
Councillors on a planning committee will vote on whether to press ahead with the £21million project which could see a carriageway built through a woodland park between High Burnside, Blairbeth and Fernhill.
The news comes as the council put their business case to their own executive committee last week.
In it, they say the total value of benefits of the road could exceed £60m over six decades.
The case also claims the improvement to the road infrastructure could create jobs in deprived areas.
A report to councillors read: “The scheme will enhance the local and strategic road network. Rutherglen has had a long standing problem of congestion in the town centre which has led to air quality problems in particular.
“The Council has a desire to remove strategic traffic from the town centre and some existing less suitable radial routes, and re-route via an improved ‘strategic’ local network. The Cathkin Relief Road will support this objective.”
It continues: “The Cathkin Relief Road will improve accessibility for areas with high levels of deprivation.
“The scheme will promote areas of new development, thus assisting with job creation and providing improved access to the wider road and transport network and the opportunities this brings.”
In all, the council sets out six individual benefits. These are: * Improve infrastructure to employment areas reduce traffic impacts on neighbouring residential type roads * Reduce congestion * Improve public transport reliability and bus/rail integration
* Enhance access for cyclists and pedestrians * Provide environmental benefits * Improve road safety. Gordon Mackay, Head of Roads and Transportation for South Lanarkshire Council said: “In order to further appraise the Cathkin Relief Road, the modelling exercise previously undertaken in 2007 as part of the STAG process was revisited in 2015.
“Traffic surveys were undertaken in November and December 2014 to gather data to update the traffic model and ensure it reflects current circumstances.
“Output from the model in terms of traffic flow, journey time and vehicle delay has allowed financial benefits to be calculated for future years. An economic appraisal over 60 years has since been undertaken using recognised industry practice.
“This appraisal has compared the overall benefits and costs and confirms that the scheme delivers very good value for money. This manifests itself in a benefit to cost ratio for the scheme of 2.9.
“In conventional transport economic appraisal, schemes greater than two demonstrate a high value for money.”
Work on the carriageway could start in the spring of next year. The plans have been updated to include a realignment of the Croftfoot Road/Fernhill Road/ Blairbeth Road junctions.