As part of Transport Scotland’s strategic trunk road management programme, Scotland TranServ is proposing a £1.5Million summer investment in the A76.
Over the next few months the trunk road operating company will resurface a total of
5.2 kilometres of the south west route that runs from Kilmarnock to Dumfries.
Evan Ferguson, Scotland TranServ’s Planned Maintenance Manager said:
““Scotland TranServ is utilising redirected budgets from Transport Scotland to accelerate the construction of a number of major road maintenance schemes. The A76 was particularly affected by the prolonged wintry weather, which brought with it a sustained period of freeze and thaw cycles, impacting our trunk roads and leading to an unprecedented number of carriageway defects.
“Our teams have brought forward planned maintenance programmes for this year to help improve this stretch of the trunk road network. Due to the limited available road width in parts of the A76 it may be necessary to close the trunk road to ensure the safety of our workers and the travelling public. We have grouped these projects together to help reduce the long-term disruption on local communities.”
Over the summer, Scotland TranServ is proposing to carry out FIVE resurfacing schemes. These will include:
A76 Crockroy to High Cairn – The first project on Scotland TranServ’s summer schedule will take place in June. The £236k resurfacing project will see the improvement of 1kilometre of trunk road. Further details will be released shortly.
A76 Holywood station – At the end June, Scotland TranServ will resurface 660m of carriageway. The £147k project will be to the benefit of motorists heading out of Dumfries.
A76 North of Barburgh Quarry – Proposed resurfacing of 1.2kilometres of carriageway in mid-summer. This £175k project will deliver long-term benefits to commuters between Auldgirth and Closeburn.
A76 Pennylands to Barony – We are proposing the resurfacing of 700m of the trunk road in late summer using the crack and seat (C&S) method. This method reuses more of the original trunk road structure in forming the base of the new road.
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A76 Horsecleugh to Glenramskill – Again using C&S technology, we propose resurfacing 680m of the A76 in late summer. C&S allows us to maximise the reuse of trunk road materials and minimise volumes of construction traffic and associated lorry miles.
A76 Rail Bridge to Skerrington Roundabout – In addition to the summer programme, we are proposing the resurfacing of 1kilometre of the trunk road at Netherthird near Cumnock for autumn 2018.
Alan Murray, Scotland TranServ’s Principal Road Design Engineer added:
“We have recently completed similar investment programmes on the A77 through south Ayrshire and the A78 in North Ayrshire and Inverclyde. We’re working in liaison with local authorities and key stakeholders to carefully schedule these schemes for minimal impact on our communities and local businesses.
“We will continue to keep commuters and freight drivers informed on potential road closures and diversions in advance these works. The A76 is a busy road, connecting a number of smaller communities with large towns like Dumfries and Kilmarnock, and that’s why it’s essential that we minimise the impact of these works where possible.”
Due to the nature of the trunk road network in this area of South West Scotland, diversions routes are significant and add several minutes onto journeys. Motorists are advised to allow plenty of extra time for their journeys.
Journey times will be monitored in real time and relayed to trafficscotland.org. For live traffic information please follow @trafficscotland on Twitter. Further diversion information is available on the Scotland TranServ website.
This concentrated programme of improvements for the A76 is one of a number of such schemes being scheduled by Scotland TranServ to deliver long-term benefits to commuters, local communities and businesses across South West Scotland on behalf of Transport Scotland.
Andy Fraser, Scotland TranServ’s Operating Company Representative concluded:
“Across South West Scotland, we’re working on behalf of Transport Scotland to prioritise such road maintenance issues and deliver our road surface improvement projects as quickly, efficiently and safely as possible. The A76 is an important economic artery for South West Scotland. These works will therefore be scheduled for maximum efficiency and minimal disruption.”
