A CAMPAIGNER is urging transport bosses to 'stop passing the buck' and resolve Inverclyde's roads crisis.

John Houston is calling for action to tackle a flooding issue which keeps causing traffic chaos on the A8 at East Hamilton Street near to Sinclair Street.

An area has been coned off from the start of the week after heaving rain caused the inside lane heading towards Greenock to flood.

It is a problem that has consistently blighted the stretch for a number of years, but Mr Houston says nothing is being done to find a permanent fix.

He said: "I've lost count how many times the Telegraph reported on this, yet in 2021 it is still a recurring problem.

"This has been going on far too long."

Mr Houston added: "If you are a business providing services or a worker trying to get into Inverclyde during peak hours, think of the lost business, lost trade, lost production due to traffic.

"It always floods in the same place but there never appears to be a solution.

"I've rescued people who have been stuck in three feet of water on this road."

Mr Houston says there is also a public transport issue because journeys are taking longer and the environmental impact of the congestion.

He said: "This is stagnant water. It's not running away.

"It seems to me that drainage is the issue. There used to be a bridge here and there was a dip in the road so trucks could make it under the bridge. That is gone now but the layout has never been adjusted to compensate.

"I think it should be assessed to raise the entire road. In this country we should be able to solve this. If something which causes so much disruption happens this often, it needs to be fixed."

Mr Houston wants a focus group set up with the public to liaise with Transport Scotland and other agencies.

He said: "The authorities need their feet held to the fire until they come up with a solution to get this sorted."

A spokesperson for Amey, the company managing and maintaining the south-west network on behalf of Transport Scotland, said: “The traffic management on the A8 at East Hamilton Street, Greenock was put in place by Scottish Water, to undertake an urgent repair on a manhole cover on the westbound carriageway of the trunk road.

"For safety reasons, a nearside closure was installed. The repair was completed overnight and the traffic management remained in place to allow the road to cure and cool down. Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication with their traffic management company.

“In addition, we understand Scottish Power also have continuous traffic management in place on East Hamilton Street. This work could not be completed from the footpath, while providing adequate protection for pedestrians, wheelchair users and pram access, and the traffic management is in place for safety reasons. Scottish Power originally proposed to complete this scheme by the November 27, but this has now been extended to December 4.”

A spokesman for Transport Scotland, said: “We will continue to monitor the trunk road drainage system and ask our operating company to increase the frequency of the gullies being cleaned out. A wider drainage survey is being carried out by Amey to ensure that there are no deficiencies in our own drainage system that will reduce operational capacity.”