RENOVATIONS on the Erskine Bridge are expected to cause traffic disruption when work begins this weekend.

As part of a £3.25m investment by Transport Scotland to upgrade lighting on the busy bridge, work at the top of the two bridge towers will start on Saturday, September 17.

It is expected journey times will increase by around 45 minutes and road users have been advised to plan ahead using Traffic Scotland’s website and Twitter feed for real-time traffic information.

Operatives will be working at heights of 40 metres above the bridge deck as they work to access the towers to replace the existing aircraft navigation lamps with new LED lights, which will result in offside lane closures in both directions this weekend and next.

Traffic management will be in operation from 6am-6pm each day.

Cycle and pedestrian lanes on the eastbound side of the bridge will remain closed during the works, with the westbound side operating as normal.

Andy Fraser, representative for Scotland TranServ said: “We have considered all available options for carrying out this work and the safest way for the contractor to access the towers and install the new lighting is in daylight hours under offside lane closures.

“Delays are expected to be around 45 minutes and we would urge road users to plan ahead and leave plenty of time for their journeys.”

Scotland TranServ is currently overseeing the 28 week programme which is projected to result in up to 70% in energy savings for Transport Scotland.