Drivers warned of M8 slip road closures

A slip-road onto the M8 motorway will be closed for five months while another busy road will also be shut for several nights, drivers have been warned.

Major works to refurbish a bridge carrying a slip road and renew the road surface on the motorway at M8 Junction 3, Livingston, is due to start on Monday, February 13.

The £1.4m upgrade of the reinforced concrete bridge that carries the eastbound slip road off the M8 at Junction 3 began with preparatory works last month and now requires the extended closure of the slip road for approximately five months to upgrade the bridge.

Overnight carriageway closures are also planned on the A899, which passes underneath the bridge, to facilitate the safe erection of scaffolding on the structure overhead.

The A899 northbound carriageway will be closed between 8pm and 6am on the nights of Wednesday and Thursday March 8 and 9, then the A899 southbound carriageway will be closed on the nights of Friday and Monday, March 10 and 13.

A £465k programme of overnight resurfacing on the eastbound carriageway of the M8 is also scheduled to begin on Monday, March 6. These works will take place between 8.30am and 6am over five nights, concluding on the morning of Saturday, March 11.

Clearly signed diversion routes will maintain access to Livingston from the M8 at all times, underlining that it is open for business and reflecting the town’s popularity as a commuter town between Edinburgh and Glasgow and its reputation as a prime shopping destination.

Tommy Deans, BEAR Scotland’s South East Network Manager, said: “We don’t take the decision to close roads lightly, however it is necessary to ensure the safety of the workforce and road users alike.”