A five-week programme of overnight maintenance on the A720 Edinburgh City Centre Bypass is set to begin on Sunday 11 July 2021. The work, which will be carried out in 16 phases, will mean overnight closures of different parts of the bypass during each phase.
Maintenance closures aim to tidy up carriages and roadsides, reducing the longer term need for traffic management and hopefully resulting in less disruption on the City Bypass overall.
Transport Scotland’s operating company BEAR Scotland will carry out activities such as litter picking, gully emptying, catch-pit cleaning, weed spraying, road sweeping, pothole patching and repairs to signs and safety fences. This is alongside inspections of carriageways and structures.
Overnight closures will be in place on the dates and locations listed below, from 9.00pm to 6.30am each night. Diversion routes will be signposted where indicated:
| Start | End | Location | Duration | Traffic mgt | Diversion route (if applicable) |
| 11-Jul | 12-Jul | Gogar to Hermiston on-slip eastbound | 1 Night | Total closure | Gogar Rbt – South Gyle – A71 Calder Jct to South Gyle – Calder Jct |
| 12-Jul | 13-Jul | Calder to Gogar Link Road westbound | 1 Night | Total closure | Divert via Dreghorn and return |
| 13-Jul | 14-Jul | Gogar to Calder Link Road eastbound (including nearside lane closure up to Calder) | 1 Night | Total closure | Divert via Hermiston Gait Roundabout |
| 14-Jul | 16-Jul | Hermiston to Dreghorn eastbound | 2 of 3 nights | Total closure | Calder Jct – A71 Calder Rd – B701 Wester Hailes Rd – B701 Gillespie Rd – B701 Redford Rd – Dreghorn Link – Dreghorn Jct |
| 18-Jul | 19-Jul | Hermiston to Dreghorn eastbound | 3 of 3 nights | Total closure | Calder Jct – A71 Calder Rd – B701 Wester Hailes Rd – B701 Gillespie Rd – B701 Redford Rd – Dreghorn Link – Dreghorn Jct |
| 19-Jul | 20-Jul | Dreghorn to Lothianburn on-slip eastbound | 1 night | Total closure | Dreghorn Jct – Dreghorn Link – B701 Hunters Tryst – A702 – Lothianburn Jct |
| 20-Jul | 21-Jul | Lothianburn to Straiton on-slip eastbound | 1 night | Total closure | Lothianburn Jct – A702 – B701 Frogston Road – A701 Burdiehouse Rd – Straiton Jct |
| 21-Jul | 23-Jul | Straiton to Sheriffhall Roundabout eastbound | 2 nights | Total closure | Straiton Jct – Lang Loan – Lasswade Rd – Gilmerton Station Road – A772 – A7 – Sheriffhall Rbt |
| 25-Jul | 27-Jul | Sheriffhall Roundabout to Old Craighall eastbound | 2 nights | Total closure | Sheriffhall Rbt – A7 – B6415 Old Craighall Rd – Old Craighall Rbt |
| 27-Jul | 29-Jul | Old Craighall to Sherrifhall Roundabout westbound | 2 nights | Total closure | Old Craighall Rbt – B6415 Old Craighall Rd – A7 – Sheriffhall Rbt |
| 29-Jul | 30-Jul | Sherrifhall Roundabout to Straiton westbound | 1 of 3 nights | Total closure | Sherifhall Rbt – A7 – A772 – Gilmerton Station RD – Lasswade Rd – Lang Loan – Straiton Jct |
| 01-Aug | 03-Aug | Sherrifhall Roundabout to Straiton westbound | 2 of 3 nights | Total closure | Sherifhall Rbt – A7 – A772 – Gilmerton Station RD – Lasswade Rd – Lang Loan – Straiton Jct |
| 03-Aug | 05-Aug | Straiton on-slip to Lothianburn on-slip westbound | 2 nights | Total closure | Straiton Jct – A701 Burdiehouse Rd – B701 Frogston Rd – A702 – Lothianburn Jct |
| 05-Aug | 06-Aug | Lothianburn on-slip to Dreghorn westbound | 1 night | Total closure | Lothianburn Jct – A702 – B701 Hunter Tryst – Dreghorn Link – Dreghorn Jct |
| 08-Aug | 11-Jan | Dreghorn to Gogar westbound | 3 Nights | Total closure | Dreghorn Jct – Dreghorn Link – B701 Redford Rd – B701 Gillespie Rd – B701 Wester Hailes Rd – A71 Calder Rd – Calder Jct |
| 12-Aug | 13-Aug | Old Craighall Roundabout | 1 night | Alternative lane closure | n/a |
Consultation has been carried out with emergency services and other relevant stakeholders to share information about the project in advance.
Tommy Deans, BEAR Scotland’s South East Network Manager, said: “It’s essential for safety that we close the carriageway while these works are carried out, however we’ll be taking advantage of the closures to carry out as many routine maintenance tasks as possible at once.”
The closures will take place overnight to avoid road disruption as much as possible. If you are planning to use the bypass at night over the next few weeks, BEAR Scotland advises to check which restrictions will be in place and allow extra time for journeys.
“We thank road users and the local community for their patience and understanding,” says Tommy Deans.
Real time journey information is available from Traffic Scotland on www.trafficscotland.org, twitter at @trafficscotland or the mobile site my.trafficscotland.org.
To consider public transport options as an alternative for your journey visit www.travelinescotland.com or www.transportdirect.info
