A71 is open to traffic

Works complete

A major road has fully re- opened following four months of work.

Work has been completed on the A71 following 16 weeks of roadworks to demolish and replace the road bridge next to the station in West Calder.

The bridge reconstruction was delivered in an intensive period of work from January to hit the deadline and is part of wider activities on the Shotts line ahead of the electrification of the route by 2019

As well as work to demolish and reconstruct the bridge cleared for the electrification of the railway underneath, the work programme also involved extensive mining remediation work under the bridge abutments to ensure the ongoing integrity of the rebuilt structure.

Iain McFarlane Network Rail’s head of programme management for the Shotts Line Electrification programme thanked road users of their patience while the works were underway.

He said: “We have been mindful of the impact that closing the A71 has for both road users and those communities adjacent to the proposed diversion route and have been focussed on completing this work with minimal disruption.

“The new railway bridge clears the way for overhead electrification but also means the structure is fit for purpose for the volume and weight of traffic travelling over it now and growth in the future.

“We are grateful for the patience shown by the community in West Calder, and those who would normally have used this route, while the road has been unavoidably closed to enable the bridge replacement work.”