Revealed, shocking state of our motorway barriers
LIFESAVING crash barriers protecting drivers on Scotland’s busiest motorway are in a state of disrepair.
One motoring body has warned that many of Scotland’s trunk roads also ‘need urgent repairs and upgrades’.
The condition of the M8’s steel crash barriers – worn and rusty in places – was highlighted earlier this week when a G4S prison van ploughed through them and onto the opposite carriageway following a collision in Glasgow.
A study carried out by the Performance Audit Group (PAG) found only one of three companies that maintain trunk roads for Transport Scotland was rated ‘good’ for maintaining safety fences, barriers and fencing after accidents had taken place.
Last night, an AA spokesman said: ‘These barriers are the difference between an accident that stays on one carriageway and one that crashes through into oncoming traffic.
‘Many roads in Scotland are in a terrible state and need urgent repairs and upgrades. It is unacceptable to allow them to deteriorate to a level where they are not safe for all users.’
Service by Scotland TranServ, which looks after trunk roads in South-West Scotland, improved from ‘poor’ to ‘fair’, the PAG report said.
The authors state: ‘Issues were generally dealt with timeously. However, the repair of the A77 pedestrian barrier was significantly affected by delays during design.’
BEAR’s performance in North-West Scotland was rated ‘fair’ but the PAG report said: ‘Identification and repair of Category 1 safety fence defects was on several occasions not to the timescales required.’
The firm’s performance in NorthEast Scotland was rated ‘good’.
Amey, which maintains roads in South-East Scotland, also received a ‘fair’ rating, though the report authors noted that near the end of their assessment a number of damaged safety fences had not been fixed within the required timescale.
Motoring and safety groups have expressed fears about crumbling or damaged barriers.
Neil Greig, policy and research director at IAM RoadSmart, said: ‘Barriers are vital. The worst possible kind of crash on a motorway is a vehicle going through a crash barrier, hitting oncoming traffic.
‘If the barriers are rusty or broken, the car will go onto the other carriage and you will have a major incident on your hands.
‘The Scottish Government is very good at building new infrastructure – such as the new Forth crossing – but not so good at maintaining it afterwards.’
A spokesman for Transport Scotland said: ‘The safety of the trunk road network is our main priority.
‘Inspections of the M8 barriers by the operating company, Scotland TranServ, have to led to a prioritised programme of repairs which has already seen an investment of £1million in 2015-16 and a further £2million for four schemes in the current financial year.’
A spokesman for BEAR Scotland said: ‘Inspections of all safety barriers are carried out, with additional weekly inspections to identify defects and prioritise repairs.
‘The PAG report refers to the year 2014-15 and the performance relates to reactive maintenance from vehicle damage rather than the upkeep of the barriers.’
‘Need urgent repairs’