Cash to fix six bridges
Perth and Kinross Council has succeeded in bidding for £937,000 of additional funding to fix six damaged bridges requiring urgent work to keep commuter routes open.
The local authority will receive the sum after asking for extra cash from the Scottish Government’s £ 32 million Local Bridge Maintenance Fund.
The council has said a portion of the sum will be spent repairing Culteuchar Bridge south of Forgandenny, the Fanny Burn Culvert between Dunning and Yetts O’ Muckhart and Glendevon Bridge between Yetts O’ Muckhart and Gleneagles.
The first and third of the aforementioned bridges were damaged by heavy rainfall and flash flooding in August 2020 and the local authority has had to install temporary bridges at all three locations to keep roads open.
The rest of the £ 937,000 will be split between another three projects aimed at fixing damage done to Bishops Bridge between Braco and Crieff, Dalnacardoch Bridge
north of Blair Atholl and Invervar Bridge in Glen Lyon.
A council spokesperson said work is already under way to repair Glendevon Bridge while further work to fix the Fanny Burn Culvert, Bishops Bridge and Dalnacardoch Bridge is being planned for next year.
The spokesperson said of the work being done at Glendevon Bridge, which carries the A823 between Yetts O’ Muckhart and Gleneagles: “This is a key route into Perth and Kinross from Clackmannanshire, and its closure results in a diversion via Stirling or Perth, and very significant inconvenience for motorists.
“A temporary bridge was installed to allow the road to reopen within weeks of the flash flooding. Works are now underway to carry out the permanent repairs.”
The spokesperson added timescales for the permanent replacement of Culteuchar Bridge have still to be confirmed.
Councillor Angus Forbes, the convener of PKC’s environment and infrastructure committee, commented: “This is a welcome announcement and the additional funding will supplement the £17.2 m that the council is investing in the local road network this year.
“It will help w i t h progression of repair/ maintenance projects to protect these bridges and culverts, and assist local communities and visitors alike when on our roads.”
Scotland’s public finance minister, Tom Arthur MSP, remarked: “I am pleased that this funding will help rebuild or maintain key local bridges where alternative routes are either not available at all, or involve an unacceptable level of inconvenience if they have to close.
“For some communities bridges provide lifeline links to local needs and necessities, and when they close it can deeply inconvenience residents and disrupt local economies.”