Tram chiefs to re-lay 500ft of concrete after blunder
TRAM chiefs will be forced to re-lay almost 500ft of concrete after an error by contractors.
Three sites at Shandwick Place and Haymarket in the West End, and York Place in the east, will have to be repaired after an inspection found that the material that sits between the rails and the road surface was inferior.
Had the error not been picked up, the work might have had to have been carried out after the service had started running next year, sources said, leading to disruption.
Edinburgh City Council said the unnamed contractor, part of the consortium Infraco which is carrying out the civil engineering works, would foot the bill.
It is estimated it will take about four weeks.
It confirmed that three “locations of concern” had been identified.
Michael Apter, chairman of the West End Traders Association, said it was “disappointing” that the error could lead to further delays in an area hit hard by disruption.
Grant McKeeman, owner of Copymade in West Maitland Street in the West End, said: “This just shows the gross incompetence of everyone involved. They have to be working 24 hours a day to get this sorted.” A spokesman for the council said: “These works will be at cost of the contractor and will not affect the completion date.”