Work on bridge has affected some firms more than others

Business representatives in Springkerse have spoken out about the impact the Kerse Road closure is having on trade in the area.

The route was completely closed off to traffic just over a month ago, on April 16, and won’t fully open again until October.

This was to allow for the demolition of the road bridge and construction of a brand new structure as part of the railway electrification project.

The road was originally reduced to one lane in January but, five weeks after the full closure was implemented, three Springkerse businesses have lifted the lid on the impact the measure is having.

Harry Turnbull, director and founder at masonry firm Stirling Stone, believes the closure is hurting the city. The 72-year-old told the Observer: “The whole thing is a disaster. How difficult are things going to get before they [Stirling Council] take note of what is happening?

“I don’t know what progress has been made but I would suggest there’s no way in hell it will be finished in six months.

“There have been real problems with the traffic flow, and the narrow roads being used are not designed for the increased volume of traffic.”

Stirling Stone was established 30 years ago and operate in the specialised field of stonemasonry in building.

It has worked on striking buildings throughout the country – including high courts and sheriff courts – while local projects include the Wallace Monument and Stirling Castle.

Mr Turnbull, who has to travel from the office in Springkerse to his home in Kippen, added: “If I leave the office at 4pm it is horrendous. Lord knows what it’s doing to the tourist traffic. A lot of people simply won’t know where to go.

“We try to promote the city through our name Stirling Stone, but I just despair at what is happening. The whole thing just doesn’t make sense.”

The road bridge over the railway is being replaced as part of a wider programme of works on the Stirling line ahead of the electrification of the railway.

Network Rail say that, once completed, the new bridge will provide an increase in the width of the carriageway, creating the possibility for Stirling Council to create a third lane in the future.

However, John McPhee (53) of Springkerse Auto Centre feels Network Rail should be working with more urgency to get the route back open before October. He said: “At rush hour times, around 9am and 5pm, the traffic tends to be quite bad and it can add halfan-hour on to your journey time.

“For maybe the first week we had some customers complaining about it, but I think people have started to accept it and they are willing to travel if they need the work done. We’ve not seen too much of an impact on business to be fair.

“I just can’t understand why a project like that is taking so long to complete. Surely it could be done quicker if longer hours were spent working on it.”

As part of a series of mitigation measures introduced, Players Road, close to the site of the bridge works, has been widened, with a two-way system introduced in a bid to help improve traffic flow in the area.

Lynda Leiper (21) of Stirling Valet Tech believes that has made a positive difference and said: “We’ve not been affected too badly [by the bridge closure] thankfully. Introducing the new two-way road around three weeks ago has been beneficial – I’d say that really helped.”

Earlier this month Stirling MSP Bruce Crawford said he was impressed by the progress being made on the bridge project.

More than 10,000 tonnes of metal had been removed from the site – including two 26-tonne girders which were lifted from the old bridge using a crane.

The existing bridge has now been totally demolished and work has begun on the next phase.

Last week the Observer reported that Network Rail contractors had started pile-driving as the foundations were put down ahead of the construction of the new bridge.

To comment on this story: email john.rowbotham@trinitymirror.com, or write to the Observer at 34 Upper Craigs, Stirling, FK82DW.