Date finally revealed for opening of relief road
Final layer of tarmac to go down after delays
The Cathkin Relief Road will finally be open to vehicles on Friday, February 24 the Reformer can reveal.
South Lanarkshire Council confirmed the project will finally come to a close at the end of this month — three months on from when it was originally meant to finish.
Council officers met with the Reformer this week to discuss the project.
Some seasonal planting work will be ongoing at the site into the spring, but it is expected the land will be clear from industrial items before the road opens.
The final cost of the project is expected to be £18.6million. That is £3m under budget, despite the project not being completed on time.
Head of roads and transportation, Gordon McKay, said: “The funding for the City Deal projects is split 86 per cent from City Deal and 14 per cent from the council.
“The savings identified allow the council to reduce the borrowing that it would have taken to fund our share of the project, albeit these savings may also be required to address any future additional costs on any of the council’s other City Deal projects should such circumstances arise.
“The project estimate did include a contingency allowance. Savings have been achieved as a consequence of much of this contingency allowance not requiring to be utilised.”
The Cathkin Relief Road has stoked emotion and controversy since plans for the project were finally unveiled in 2014.
To supporters, the road will take pressure of surrounding roots and will help boost the economy, while opponents, who live mostly along the route, bemoan the loss of a local park and claim the project has split communities.
With the road finally set to open on February 24 after a number of delays, the Reformer was invited to take a look down the route.
At last, much of the road is in place. The tarmac is due to get its final layer this week while planting continues on the verges.
There are three crossing points, one controlled and two uncontrolled, while the noise barrier will include live willow on the section of the road closest to Larchfield Drive.
Colin Park is the engineering manager at South Lanarkshire Council.
He insists the road will go on to become a vital part of the local network and said the public will be able to see if the benefits promised have been realised.
Among the benefits will be the upgrade of existing play areas, including the play area at the corner of Fernhill Road and Shieldaig Drive.
Colin said: “This project is about more than a road. Obviously the road is the main element, but you have improved road network, improved connectivity between Fernhill and Burnside, you have cycle routes, new bus stops.
“You are looking at taking traffic away from other roads and improving the business infrastructure. We are sure certain people were using parts of this for recreation and once we are finished we can look at things like this in more detail.
“There will be quite a robust benefits realisation monitoring programme in place. We won’t be out the day after it opens, but there will be monitoring in six months time to a year.
“We would hope to see the benefits within a few months in terms of traffic changes.”
Joining Colin on the day is Jim Lochwood, the council’s site supervisor, Bill Lees, roads design engineer with the council, and Joe McLoughlin, senior project manager with Land Engineering, who are carrying out the project.
As we head from Cathkin bypass towards Fernhill Road, all are keen to point out what they view as positives of the road – vehicle activated speed signs, an improved DDA-approved path network.
Once an area of green, the land has been turned brown, but Joe reckons the planting programme will have much of the land back to a more natural look by the end of the summer.
Construction started last February and was expected to be complete by the end of November.
However, a range of delays have followed, frustrating locals and pushing the opening date into 2017.
But both Bill and Colin insist a full investigation of the site was completed.
“We did a lot of site investigation in terms of what was here,” said Bill. “You always find things you do not expect in projects like this.”
This project is about more than a road
Colin Park
Colin said: “We wanted to get this done before the weather turned but unfortunately that didn’t happen.”
The council have confirmed the project is set to come in under budget, a claim that has left some opponents scratching their heads.
I ask, how can a largescale construction be nearly three months overdue yet still be under budget.
Colin said: “Any project like this plans for any contingency. There is an underspend, that is down to good planning at the start, looking at all eventualities.”
There is little doubt the impression they are keen to make of the road is positive.
Back at the site office, they show me artists impressions of what the road will look like once complete and all the land around has been recovered.
It is an idyllic image but one that you suspect will not be shared with those who so staunchly opposed the road. Alan McLennan, who led the opposition group, said he still wasn’t convinced the road would improve the area.
He said: “I genuinely suspect traffic to and from East Kilbride will use the new road initially, but once drivers experience being stuck behind a bus at the two bus stops on the existing Cathkin bypass and then at the five sets of traffic lights between Burnside Road and Mill Street, drivers will revert to using Blairbeth Road as a quicker route.
“With regards to reducing congestion on Rutherglen Main Street, the new road will have absolutely no effect on that whatsoever.
“It is my opinion, and that of many, many local residents, that this road is of no local benefit and is a poor use of public money. In addition, it has destroyed a valuable local amenity.”