TRUNK road operators are taking urgent action to address ‘horrific’ road conditions on a major route through Inverclyde following complaints from angry drivers.
After years of campaigning, work is now underway by A78 operators Amey to make a 'danger' junction at Inverkip Main Street safe, thanks to funding from the Glasgow City Region Deal.
But concerns have been raised that as a result of the lane closures and diversions put in place to allow the works to take place, vehicles are now driving on unsuitable surfaces.
Currently, drivers travelling past Inverkip from Greenock to Wemyss Bay along A78 are forced to drive over the road’s central reservation, an uneven surface which some motorists say has caused damage to their cars.
Campaigner Lesley Roberts, who has previously hit out at the state of the roads, told the Telegraph her car had been damaged by driving over the surface.
She said: "I am raging, my car has been damaged because of the state of the road. I have been complaining about the constant state of disrepair on the A78 from Inverkip to Wemyss Bay for a considerable time. “
Following a flurry of complaints from drivers, Amey has now committed to undertake work to address the defects on the road.
But another driver who spoke to the Telegraph questioned why the works were not carried out before the road was rerouted.
They said: "The condition of this route is nothing short of horrific. Although there is a 30mph speed limit in place, even at 20mph this is an extremely bumpy ride.
"There is no let up and no way to avoid the extremely deep potholes for simply running into another.
"I believe that the planning of this particular area of works was not thought through at all.
"This temporary routing should have been addressed prior to making it the primary route for traffic, like filling in the craters.
"This doesn't even take into account all the damage that the works is causing with all the loose debris coming from the damaged areas causing damage to any vehicles’ paint work."
Read more
West Scotland MSP Jamie Greene told the Telegraph he had been contacted by constituents about the state of the road, and had raised the matter with the authorities.
He said: “I’ve been contacted by numerous residents who are fed up with the state of A78 at Inverkip – years of temporary traffic lights, poor road conditions, and growing potholes have made this route unsafe and unacceptable.
“I’ve written to Transport Scotland asking them to address constituents concerns while also completing the relevant roadworks to ensure that road users feel safe to drive and confident they won’t experience any damage to their vehicles.
“Local communities deserve roads that are safe, well maintained but also free from constant roadworks which divert drivers on to routes which make them feel unsafe.”
These works are set to commence on Sunday at 8pm and will be completed by 6am on Monday morning.
An Inverclyde Council spokesperson said: “The traffic management on the A78 Inverkip junction improvement project was moved on Monday night to enable the contractor to start work on the village side of the A78.
“To incorporate this change, the traffic is now running along the central reservation.
“However, on Tuesday it was noted that the some potholes were appearing and on Wednesday and Thursday night Amey attended the site to temporarily repair the surface.
“As this was only a temporary fix, on Sunday night (10 August), the road will be reduced to a single lane under traffic lights overnight to allow for resurfacing works to take place.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused to residents and road users and we’re continuing to work with our main contractor and partners Amey to minimise disruption where possible and respond to issues as quickly as we can.”
Share