Chaotic roadworks in Dumbarton have caused major delays and prompted a local politician to call for a rethink. The works, carried out by Scottish Water between Dalreoch Train Station and Renton Road, have seen a five-way temporary traffic light system installed, with delays reported on Glasgow Road.
Residents hit by delays
The works began on August 30 and are scheduled to run until December 7. A post from West Dunbartonshire Council informing drivers of the changes attracted numerous angry comments.
Olivia Armstrong said: “I’ve just had to cancel a hospital appointment that I have been waiting on for months because I can’t get out of the area. This is horrific, I have a newborn baby and I won’t be able to go out with her alone in the car as I can’t having her sitting in the car for that long.”
Alan Coull added: “It took us one hour to travel from Perrays Drive to get to the lights at Dalreoch and that was on the bank holiday when we left at 12.30pm on Monday. With people returning to work and school, the volume of traffic will increase significantly and to get to appointments, we will probably have to leave two hours earlier for the next three months - an absolute nightmare.”
MSP urges suspension
Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie has taken up the case, noting that schools, businesses and transport links were disrupted by extensive tailbacks from the Scottish Water project to upgrade the waste water network on the River Leven at Dalreoch. Traffic tailed back as far as Cardross, with drivers from Cardross Road claiming only two vehicles were permitted through the lights at a time.
Ms Baillie has urged Scottish Water chiefs to suspend the works until better arrangements are made. She said: “I have called on Scottish Water to suspend these works immediately until better arrangements can be put in place. I have also made contact with West Dunbartonshire Council’s road team to ask them to take urgent action with Scottish Water. I am clear that this level of disruption is not acceptable for residents, businesses and schools. I have asked that these works are suspended meantime to alleviate pressure on residents.”
Scottish Water responds
A Scottish Water spokeswoman said the works were part of a £4million upgrade to reduce “sewer-related debris” entering the nearby River Leven. She added that the company had worked with the local authority on a “traffic management plan” to help protect the safety of its workers during the upgrades.
She added: “We appreciate that the deployment of temporary traffic lights on Glasgow Road has caused significant local disruption, and we apologise for the inconvenience caused. Working with West Dunbartonshire Council we have re-evaluated the traffic management and the lights will now be manually controlled between 7am and 7pm, seven days a week to help with the flow of traffic. Traffic flows will continue to be monitored as the project progresses to review the situation in order to minimise further disruption to the community. We thank everyone impacted for their patience and understanding while we carry out these essential works.”
Ms Baillie also claimed West Dunbartonshire Council chiefs were “not in favour” of the works taking place at this time. A council spokesperson said: “We understand the works being carried out by Scottish Water have caused significant disruption. While they have a statutory right to undertake repairs and upgrades, we met with them to raise the impact this was having on road users and ensure urgent adjustments were made to their traffic management plan. We are continuing to monitor the situation.”
