Safety work to close busy road for 17 days

Nov 6 2008 by John Rowbotham, Hamilton Advertiser

A BUSY Lanarkshire road with a grim accident history is to close for up to 17 days because of roadworks.

South Lanarkshire Council say safety improvements on the A723, between Hamilton and Strathaven, are necessary.

However, the £850,000 project will mean lengthy diversions for people travelling between the two towns.

And businesses located alongside parts of the road that will close fear they will lose trade.

Angus MacDougall, who runs a petrol station that will be hit by the work, wants to know why it could not have been done at weekends.

He is also one of a number of people in Strathaven who have questioned the need to completely close the road for the duration of the project.

The work is due to begin on Saturday and is scheduled for completion by November 24.

A 4.8-mile stretch of the road will be closed between the roundabout at the A723 and Golf View, Strathaven, and Carscallan Road roundabout, Hamilton.

Traffic will be diverted via Stonehouse, Canderside Toll, Larkhall and Hamilton.

During the closure, the road will be re-surfaced and anti-skid surfacing will be laid at the tightest bends.

Signs warning drivers that they are approaching tight bends will be erected as will vehicle-activated ‘slow down’ signs.

Roads chiefs say during the project access will be maintained to Avondale Services, Strathaven Hotel, Strathaven Rugby Club and the businesses within Strathaven’s Hamilton Road Industrial Estate.

Council enterprise committee chairman Chris Thompson, said the A723 accident rate was 50 per cent higher than the national average for A-class rural roads.

There had been two serious accidents and 14 ‘slight injury’ accidents on the undulating and twisting stretch of road over the past three years.

“While the improvements to the A723 will cause some difficulties for residents, it is hoped that they will understand that the safety improvements will justify any temporary inconvenience,” added councillor Thompson.

Malcolm Macintyre, one of the partners who run the Best Western Strathaven Hotel, one mile north of Strathaven on the A723, said: “Anyone who has booked the hotel for rooms or a function will find their way here, but we will probably lose passing trade.

“The only consolation is that the work is being carried out in a month that is usually not one of our busiest.”

Mr McDougall (47) has run the independent petrol station in Hamilton Road, Strathaven for 12 years.

He also fears the loss of passing trade which, he said, represents about half of his turnover.

“I am definitely worried about the future of the business,” he added.

“What irks me is that they cannot do this work at the weekends because, apparently, it is too expensive.

“Yet, they carried out similar work on the East Kilbride-Strathaven road, and did it at weekends.

“I suppose that was because they had an obligation to keep that road open during the week for the Strathaven Academy pupils being bussed to East Kilbride every day while their new school is being built.”

He added: “I think it is disgusting that the council have let the road get into such a state that they have to take this action.”

A council spokesman said the project would take months if work was to be restricted to weekends only.

“Weekend works would mean the closure and re-opening of many routes, signage being put up and taken down, road markings painted and then removed and would logistically be almost impossible to impose, he added.

“It would also mean a lot of the time our personnel would be involved in doing this work rather than working on the road.

“The cost would also obviously be substantially increased.”

He said that consideration also had to be given to the winter weather and the impending Festive Season, when efforts were made to keep roadworks to a minimum.

“We will be working on the full length of the road from day one,” he added.

“We will have up to 15 squads working in different locations on the site at one time, working seven days a week.

“There will be up to 50 lorry-loads of tar being delivered per day.

“For safety reasons we have to have the road closed.”

Signs indicating businesses are open as usual will be placed at appropriate points.