Work finishes ahead of schedule

Motorists in Toryglen will receive some much-needed road relief when a section of Aikenhead Road reopens on Friday – several weeks ahead of schedule.

The road has been closed between Prospecthill Road and Curling Crescent since January, creating numerous problems for drivers on the morning commute, with many complaining to the Reformer or taking to social media to vent their frustrations.

The closure was to allow Scottish Water to carry out work to alleviate flooding problems in the area.

It will now reopen in time for the weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-finals at Hampden Park.

Ruaridh MacGregor, Scottish Water’s corporate affairs manager, said: “We’re delighted that our contractors, Costain Vinci Joint Venture, have finished this high-profile improvement work well ahead of schedule.

“That’s testament to how well the teams from CVJV and Scottish Water worked together on this project.

“Road users in the area will certainly be happy to hear the good news, as will football fans travelling to Hampden for the Scottish Cup semi-finals this weekend.

“It was essential that this improvement work was carried out.

“The local community has been extremely understanding throughout the closure and we’d like to thank local residents, businesses and road users for their co-operation and patience.”

Drivers claimed in January that the move was adding nearly an hour to their drive into work.

The move had a knock-on effect, with bus services changing routes.

At the time, one driver told the Reformer: “For long periods we were simply at a standstill – it was just chocka-block.”

The work has seen contractors CVJV lay a 55-metre stretch of new waste water pipe to increase the capacity of the sewer and reduce the risk of flooding in the area.

This forms part of Scottish Water’s £250m investment in the upgrade of parts of the waste water network across the Greater Glasgow area.