It appears that infrastructure is starting to fall apart
◆ I am shocked by the state of roads in Edinburgh, Glasgow and on the M8 connecting the two – and so are our readers
I don’t often drive between Edinburgh and Glasgow, but a trip one night last week alerted me to the shocking state of the road network that will be all too familiar to regular motorists.
The sheer scale of deterioration, from carriageway surfaces to badly-eroded road markings and sub-standard signs, was remarkable.
This was a feature both on roads maintained by the two city councils and the M8 between them, which private firms maintain on behalf of the Scottish Government’s Transport Scotland agency.
The difference between city streets and the motor way is that travelling at high speed sat night – let alone in strong winds, rain or snow – drivers simply should not have to have their eyes peeled for potentially-damaging potholes in addition to everything else requiring their concentration.
Added to that, I spotted some sign son overhead gantries partiallyor unlit, and electronic variable message signs only partly visible. it felt like everything was starting to fall apart.
But even at slower speeds, driving from central Edinburgh to reach the M 8, I found it disconcerting having to focus on the road surface in front of me and dodge about to avoid potholes. Having to do that on that a regular basis as a commuter would do my head in.
It also got me thinking about the state of maintenance compared to other forms of travel such as rail and air. My impression is that the rail network is maintained to a far higher standard,whereas any defect in an airport runway is rapidly patched.
We seem to have arrived at a position where the state of Scotland’s roads is “good enough” – far from perfect, and tolerable for some but unacceptable to others.
Scottish Conservatives Centralscotland mspstephenk err told the scottish parliament last week: “Is it not time for the Scottish Government to be honest and to tell the people of Scotland that it does not really care one jot about roads and that it thinks that car use is somehow malevolent?”
Taking soundings on social media, I’ve found few drivers happy with the situation. c al um Miller said of them 8:“atrocious condition. Poor surface, lighting and road markings. Signs in most cases can’t be read at night.”
Another motorist, ali stair wilson described roads between Edinburgh and Glasgow as “in general very poor”. He said: “They are shocking. Poor lighting, markings getting faded – a sad state of affairs.”
S tu artmc le ll an, ofslmcyc le Transport in Uddingston, said: “In my experience, Edinburgh used to be worse than Glasgow bu ti would say that they are now both poor with lots of potholes, sunken manholes and many instances where the top layer appears to be crumbling.”
Roads experts echoed such concerns. Neil Greig, the Scotland-based adviser to motoring group IAM Roadsmart, told me: “It does feel universally bad at the moment. The odd really bad bump at 70 mph on a premium route is totally unexpected and unacceptable.”
However, he said increased use of glow-in-the-dark LED road stud son slip roads was effective.
A roads industry source said the deterioration was “a symptom of our reduced budget this year, but things look to be getting
Is it not time for the Scottish Government to be honest and say it does not really care one jot about roads
better again next year [2024-25], based on the Scottish Budget in December. Much of the [motorway] network is reaching 50-60 years old and requires investment to ensure it remains fit for purpose.”
Budget documents show critical safety, maintenance and infrastructure spending on the trunk road network, such as motorways, fell from £435 million to £373 min 2023-24, but will increase to £525 min 202425 from April. Transport Scotlandtold me this would focus on “the highest-priority safety critical maintenance, ensuring resilience to severe weather events and to deliver on our commitment to maintain a safe and reliable trunk road network ”.
Amey, which maintains trunk roads in the south west of Scotland including the western end of the M8, told me its patrols “constantly” monitored the network and made critical repairs “in a timely manner in line with our contractual commitments ”. A spokesperson said: “At this time of year, we are maintaining the network to the highest standards, despite the increasing impact of unprecedented severe weather.” Defects can be reported atsw trunk roads. scot/ report-a-problem/
BEAR Scotland, which covers the rest of the M8 and trunk roads across south east Scotland, said routine inspections were made twice a week.
Its spokesperson said :“unfortunately, cold, wet weather has an impact on road surfaces at this time of year. Any areas which are a safety concern for road users are raised and repaired through our inspection and defect repair procedures.”
Defects can be reported via Traffic Scotland’s 24-hour customer care line on 0800 028 1414 or at bearscot.com/reporta-defect.
City of Edinburgh Council’s transport convener Scott Arthur said it was spending an extra £11 mon maintenance in 2023-24, nearly doubling the amount of road covered and almost six times the amount of pavements compared to the pre co vida vera ge. He said whole streets would be done, as people wanted, rather than piecemeal improvements.
Faults can be reported at: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/ roadproblem
A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said it had doubled road maintenance spending to £12m after a sharp increase in reported potholes a year ago following the lowest temperatures since 2010 and prolonged rainfall.
Road defects can be reported at: https://glasgow.gov.uk/ index. aspx? article id =22815.