£30,000 A85 upgrade has been postponed

Upgrades to the tune of £30,000 on the A85 west of Comrie – which were set to begin on Monday – have been postponed.

The planned project involved teams upgrading the existing drainage system, as well as replacing a culvert just outside the village.

The work was scheduled to take place across two days and two nights and was expected to be completed by 6am on Friday, March 25, subject to weather conditions.

A single lane closure with temporary traffic lights was to be in place between 7am and 7pm on Monday, March 21 and Tuesday, March 22.

A full road closure with signed diversions was also planned for between 8pm and 6am from Wednesday, March 23, to Friday, March 25.

Traffic was to be diverted via the A85 to Lochearnhead, A84 to Doune, A820 to

Stockbridge, A9 to Auchterarder, A823 and A822 to Crieff and A85 to Comrie.

Local access for residents and scheduled bus services was to be maintained.

BEAR Scotland said consultation had been carried out with emergency services and“relevant stakeholders”to make them aware of the works.

However, on Friday last week a BEAR Scotland spokesperson confirmed that the project was postponed due to “operational reasons”and would be taking place at a later date.

In a statement, they said: “Please be advised that drainage improvements planned for the A85 west of Comrie have been postponed for operational reasons.

“The project was due to get under way on Monday, March 21, and was programmed to take place across two days and two nights.

“However, works will now be programmed to take place at a later date.

“The planned traffic management will no longer be required from Monday, March 21 with A85 west of Comrie remaining fully open.

“All relevant stakeholders have been informed of the postponement of these works and will be updated further once new dates have been confirmed.”

The planned traffic management will no longer be required from Monday, March 21

Real-time journey planning information can be obtained via www. trafficscotland.org, social media and the relatively new mobile site my. trafficscotland.org.