MOTORISTS using Scotland's busiest motorway are facing a week of disruption from roadworks, which will kick in as engineering works across the Central Belt leave ScotRail travellers facing longer journeys and replacement buses.
A number of slip-roads on the M8 will be closed and diversions put in place overnight from Monday October 24 until Monday October 31 as the latest phase of upgrades gets underway.
The traffic management measures will be in place from 8pm until 6am each night to minimise inconvenience to drivers while gantries are refurbished.
The overhead signs are used for lane management facility and keep motorists up to date with real time traffic information, but some are now more than 30 years old.
The works being carried out are the third phase of a £6 million rolling refurbishment programme which will see four of the units, between Junctions 10 and 11 (westbound), 11 and 12 (westbound), 14 and 15 (eastbound) and 24 and 25 (westbound), overhauled.
Maintenance work will be carried out on the the gantries' structural steelwork and their lighting technology will be upgraded. Once refurbished, they will be more energy efficient and require less routine maintenance.
Andy Fraser, of Scotland TranServ, which is carrying out the work on behalf of Transport Scotland, said: “Some of the existing gantries have been in place for over 30 years and this programme will result in significant long term benefits to thousands of motorists using the M8 each day.
“Not only has the signage been improved but also the innovative use of LED lighting will achieve 70 per cent in energy savings per gantry each year ensuring we play a pivotal role in helping Transport Scotland meet its carbon reduction targets for 2020.”
The first night of works will see the total closure of the M8 westbound at Junction 10, with drivers diverted via Edinburgh Road and Stepps Road. There will also be nine separate closures overnight on Friday 28 and 29 October, including the total closure of the M8 Junction 18 on slip at Charing Cross and at Great Western Road eastbound on slip. Full details will be available daily on Twitter account, @trafficscotland, or on the www.trafficscotland.org website.
It will coincide with a major shake-up to ScotRail timetables across the Central Belt, beginning this weekend.
From Saturday October 22, ScotRail passengers on some of the busiest routes have been warned to expect longer journeys, more train cancellations, less frequent services and trains replaced by buses for all or part of the journey while engineering works are carried out.
The timetable changes will last up to seven weeks. The disruption comes amid the ongoing electrification works taking place as part of the Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) and other routine maintenance postponed during the summer.
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