BEAR Scotland has coordinated two essential improvement schemes during August on the A702 and A720 trunk roads in a bid to reduce overall impact on those who use these routes.
On behalf of Transport Scotland, the road operating company will undertake resurfacing works on the A702 Lothianburn North Roundabout and A720 eastbound between Lothianburn and Straiton. It will then also carry out bridge joint replacement works on the A720 eastbound at Straiton.
Details of the different schemes are outlined below.
Resurfacing – A702 Lothianburn North Roundabout – Overnight, Fri 2 August
Works to resurface the A702 Lothianburn North Roundabout will be carried out overnight on Friday 2 August between 20:30 to 06:00, finishing by 06:00 on Sat 3 August. The A702 will be closed between Lothianburn South Roundabout and the B701 Oxgangs Road / Frogston Road junction. The A720 Lothianburn eastbound off-slip and on-slip will also be closed.
Diversions:
A702 Southbound: Turn east onto the B701 Frogston Road. After 1.7 miles, traffic will turn right onto the A701 Birdiehouse Road and will continue on the A701 to Straiton Road. Traffic will exit left off Straiton Road onto the A720 and will continue towards Lothianburn south roundabout where it will exit onto the A702 southbound. This diversion will add 10 additional minutes and 4.3 miles to affected journeys.
A702 Northbound: Take the first exit on Lothianburn south roundabout onto the A720. Traffic will continue along the A720 and exit at Dreghorn Link where it will travel north and take the second exit at the roundabout onto the B701 Redford Road. It will then turn right onto Oxgangs Road before rejoining the A702 northbound at Biggar Road. This diversion will add 4 additional minutes and 2.8 miles to affected journeys.
A720 Edinburgh City Bypass eastbound traffic onto A702: Motorists travelling on the A720 eastbound looking to use the A702 should continue eastbound for 1.7 miles then take the exit to Straiton Junction to head north on Birdiehouse Road. Traffic will then be diverted left onto the B701 and continue to the A702 Biggar Road. This diversion will add 8 additional minutes and 4.5 miles to affected journeys.
Resurfacing A720 eastbound between Lothianburn and Straiton. 13 Nights, Mon 5 – Wed 21 August (no works on weekends).
Resurfacing of the A720 Edinburgh City Bypass eastbound between Lothianburn and Straiton will then start on Monday 5 August for 13 nights between 20:30 to 06:00, each night and finishing by 06:00 on Thurs 22 Augusst. No works will take place on Saturdays or Sundays. A full road closure will be in place on the A720 eastbound between the Lothianburn Junction and Straiton Junction.
Diversion:
During the overnight closures, a signed diversion route will be in place eastbound via A720 Lothianburn eastbound off-slip, A702 Biggar Road, B701 Frogston Road and the A701 Burdiehouse Road before re-joining the A720 at Straiton eastbound on-slip. This will add approximately an additional 6 minutes and 1.3 miles to affected journeys.
Bridge joint replacements A720 eastbound at Straiton. Five Nights, Mon 26 – Fri 30 August
Finally, there a bridge joint replacement scheme will be carried out on the A720 eastbound at Straiton beginning Monday 26 August for five nights between 20:30 and 06:00, each night and planned to finish by 06:00 on Sat 31 August. A full road closure will be in place on the A720 eastbound at Straiton.
Diversion:
During this closure, a signed diversion route will be in place going off the bypass eastbound and straight back on – travelling via A720 Straiton eastbound off-slip and the A720 Straiton eastbound on-slip, re-joining the A720 eastbound mainline. This diversion will add approximately one minute and zero miles to affected journeys.
Access for emergency vehicles will be maintained at all times. All traffic management will be removed outside of working hours.
Tommy Deans, BEAR Scotland’s Southeast Network Manager, said: “The raft of improvements in the Lothainburn and Straiton areas of the A702 and A720 will benefit those using this key part of the South East Scotland trunk road network. We’ve timed the schemes deliberately, so they run concurrently. While we appreciate there will be inconvenience during August, there is less traffic overall overnight. Full closures allow us to complete the works more quickly and crucially more safely.”
“We thank motorists in advance for their patience while our teams carry out these works.”
Consultation has taken place with relevant stakeholders in advance of these works to make them aware of the traffic management arrangements and to minimise any inconvenience.
Motorists are encouraged to plan ahead before setting out by checking the Traffic Scotland website www.trafficscotland.org for up-to-date travel information and allowing extra time for their journey.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
