West Lothian road closure ‘could bring more accidents’ to B-road blackspot
Villagers in West Lothian fear a three month road closure will lead to more accidents on their doorstep.
Commuter traffic from the main A70 Lang Whang road to Edinburgh is being diverted through Harburn to the A71 at West Calder from Monday.
Local community councillor Allan McLaughlan told a council meeting of fears of more accidents at the railway bridge in the village.
New safety signs have been installed on both sides of the hump back bridge. The narrow, winding B7008 road takes a sharp, almost 90 degree turn on the southern side of the bridge over the Carstairs to Edinburgh railway line. The approach to the bridge from the north is uphill.
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There have been several accidents at the site, with drivers unfamiliar with the route colliding with crash barriers, unprepared for the tight bend.
In one of the most graphic accidents, a driver from the Midlands crashed his delivery van several feet down into a field after vaulting the already damaged crash barrier last year.
Villagers have frequently helped extricate drivers from crashed cars on both sides of the bridge.
New road markings emphasize the hazard but the danger lies in the fact that much of the road is 60mph and many drivers unfamiliar are directed by sat-nav systems to the road as a short cut to and from Livingston. Advertisement Advertisement
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Road Network Manager Kenneth Brown told a meeting of Fauldhouse and the Breich Valley Local Area Committee that resurfacing work on the road is scheduled to begin in the summer.
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The work will include road realignment and anti-skid surfacing.
Chairing the meeting, Councillor Craig Meek asked: "How confident are we that the work will go ahead this summer".
"Very confident", replied Mr Brown.
Mr McLaughlan told the meeting that villagers were happy with the work that had been done so far, but highlighted that the newly installed crash barrier had been broken twice and had yet to be repaired, and some road markings had already started to wear out. Advertisement
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"There have been concerns raised.
The resurfacing of the A70 between Harburn road end and Kirknewton road end means there's going to be a lot more traffic coming down into Harburn.
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"There'll be a lot more people driving in a silly way. It's not the cars that are daft, it's the folk driving them. It would be good if the repairs could have been in place before this extra traffic starts using the road."
Drivers using the A70 will be directed towards the A71 through West Calder for a maximum of 12 weeks.
Mr Brown said there would be major resurfacing of the road from West Calder to a crossroads junction with a C road which leads west to Bentyhead and east Brucefield industrial estate on the edge of Livingston.
Additional safety work and resurfacing will take place at the railway bridge at the same time. Advertisement Advertisement
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In a report to councillors Graeme Burton, the council's Design Engineering Manager said: "The remaining design documentation will be prepared in the coming weeks, with a view to completing the works during summer this year. Exact times are not possible at this stage, as this is subject to availability of the appointed contractor.
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References
- ^ Rail disruption for North Lanarkshire and West Lothian commuters due to cable theft (uk.news.yahoo.com)
- ^ Linlithgow business wins Theo Paphitis' Small Business Award (uk.news.yahoo.com)
- ^ Premium housing plan in area of West Lothian's fastest-growing town (uk.news.yahoo.com)
- ^ West Lothian shopkeeper attacked in violent robbery as police investigate (uk.news.yahoo.com)
- ^ here (www.dailyrecord.co.uk)