Overnight roadworks on the City Bypass begin on Monday

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.”