A five-week programme of overnight maintenance on the A720 Edinburgh City Bypass is scheduled to begin on Monday 17 April 2023.
The work will be carried out in 16 phases, with overnight closures on a different section of the bypass in each phase.
Transport Scotland’s operating company BEAR Scotland will use these closures to carry out a variety of routine maintenance tasks and to tidy up the carriageways and roadsides, reducing the longer-term need for traffic management on the bypass and resulting in less disruption overall.
Works to be carried out during these closures include litter picking, gully emptying, catchpit cleaning, weed spraying, road sweeping, pothole patching as well as repairs to signs and safety fences. The closures will also allow for inspections of structures and the carriageway.
Overnight closures will be in place on the dates and locations listed below, from 8.00pm until 5.30am each night.
Diversion routes will be signposted where indicated:
| Start | End | Location | Duration | Traffic mgt | Diversion route (if applicable) |
| 17-Apr | 18-Apr | Gogar to Hermiston on slip Eastbound | 1 night | Total closure | Gogar Rbt – South Gyle – A71 Calder Jct to South Gyle – Calder Jct |
| 18-Apr | 19-Apr | Calder to Gogar Link Road | 1 night | Total closure | Divert via Dreghorn and return |
| 19-Apr | 20-Apr | Gogar to Calder Link Road (including near side lane closure up to Calder) | 1 night | Total closure | Divert via Hermiston Gait Roundabout |
| 20-Apr | 22-Apr | Hermiston to Dreghorn Eastbound | 2 nights | Total closure | Calder Jct – A71 Calder Rd – B701 Wester Hailes Rd – B701 Gillespie Rd – B701 Redford Rd – Dreghorn Link – Dreghorn Jct |
| 24-Apr | 25-Apr | Hermiston to Dreghorn Eastbound | 1 night | Total closure | Calder Jct – A71 Calder Rd – B701 Wester Hailes Rd – B701 Gillespie Rd – B701 Redford Rd – Dreghorn Link – Dreghorn Jct |
| 25-Apr | 26-Apr | Dreghorn to Lothianburn on slip Eastbound | 1 night | Total closure | Dreghorn Jct – Dreghorn Link – B701 Hunters Tryst – A702 – Lothianburn Jct |
| 26-Apr | 27-Apr | Lothianburn to Straiton on slip Eastbound | 1 night | Total closure | Lothianburn Jct – A702 – B701 Frogston Road – A701 Burdiehouse Rd – Straiton Jct |
| 27-Apr | 01-May | Straiton to Sheriffhall Rbt Eastbound | 3 nights | Total closure | Straiton Jct – Lang Loan – Lasswade Rd – Gilmerton Station Road – A772 – A7 – Sheriffhall Rbt |
| 01-May | 03-May | Sheriffhall to Old Craighall Eastbound | 2 nights | Total closure | Sheriffhall Rbt – A7 – B6415 Old Craighall Rd – Old Craighall Rbt |
| 03-May | 04-May | Old Craighall Roundabout | 1 night | Alternative lane closure | n/a |
| 04-May | 06-May | Old Craighall to Sherrifhall Rbt Westbound | 2 nights | Total closure | Old Craighall Rbt – B6415 Old Craighall Rd – A7 – Sheriffhall Rbt |
| 08-May | 09-May | Sheriffhall Roundabout | 1 night | Alternative lane closure | n/a |
| 09-May | 12-May | Sherrifhall Rbt to Straiton Westbound | 3 nights | Total closure | Sherifhall Rbt – A7 – A772 – Gilmerton Station RD – Lasswade Rd – Lang Loan – Straiton Jct |
| 12-May | 13-May | Straiton on-slip to Lothianburn on-slip Westbound | 1 night | Total closure | Straiton Jct – A701 Burdiehouse Rd – B701 Frogston Rd – A702 – Lothianburn Jct |
| 15-May | 16-May | Lothianburn on slip to Dreghorn Westbound | 1 night | Total closure | Lothianburn Jct – A702 – B701 Hunter Tryst – Dreghorn Link – Dreghorn Jct |
| 16-May | 19-May | 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 |
BEAR have been in contact 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 is 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.
“We’ve also split the works into phases so that only the minimum length of carriageway has to be closed on any given night.
“If you are planning to use the bypass at night over the next few weeks, our advice is to check what restrictions will be in place and allow extra time for your journey if necessary.
“We thank road users and the local community for their patience and understanding.”
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