A bridge too far for long-suffering drivers
Yet another closure
Drivers in Shotts can expect more traffic chaos after it was confirmed a new road over a railway bridge will be closed for a third time in 18 months.
In July 2016, the town’s Benhar Road Bridge reopened after it was reconstructed as part of the Shotts Line electrification project which took almost a year.
However, the bridge was closed for road repairs in February 2017 and January of this year.
It will now be shut from next Monday for five days to allow “carriage resurfacing work” to be carried out bringing more disruption to the town.
Shotts councillor Tommy Cochrane described the latest closure as “a farce”.
Speaking to the Wishaw Press this week, Councillor Cochrane asked: “When is this going to end?
“It took a year for the bridge to be re-built and now this is the third time Network Rail have tried to fix the road and they still can’t get it right. It’s becoming a farce.
“Transport Scotland really need to have a look at this. It’s becoming a long running saga and the people are sick of this.”
Councillor Cochrane believes it’s vital Network Rail get it right at the third time of asking.
A Network Rail spokesman said: “Since we reconstructed the bridge to enable traffic lights to be removed from Benhar Road for the first time in many years, the weight and volume of the traffic now using the improved carriageway, has led to subsidence due to the collapse of drains. We have worked with the council to resolve this issue and repairs in January put in place a solution which has since been monitored to assess if it was acceptable and would withstand the heavy traffic load on the road.
“Having been successful, we are now carrying out the full repair at a time when the road will be quieter than usual in order to minimise disruption.”