Bear Scotland has denied it was to blame for ”multiple” collisions involving nine vehicles on the M90 on Monday morning near Perth.
Traffic ground to a halt and motorists were faced with lengthy delays on the approach to Perth with road conditions made treacherous with black ice.
Commuters heading for Perth were stuck in six-mile queues near Glenfarg after a four-vehicle collision at 6am, then a car plunged 30 feet down an embankment on the same road, five miles from Perth, south of Bridge of Earn. Remarkably, the driver was not injured.
Problems were compounded by a collision on the southbound side and a broken-down vehicle travelling north. Tayside Police closed the northbound section of the M90 completely due to the number of vehicles while recoveries took place.
Traffic soon built up, with many motorists enduring delays of at least 90 minutes. Traffic was diverted along the A91 with the northbound carriageway reopening shortly after 10am.
BEAR Scotland, which is responsible for trunk roads, said it gritted the M90 at 3am on Monday as part of its winter maintenance programme.
Frustrated commuters included Perth and Kinross Council employees and a visiting sheriff bound for Perth Sheriff Court. Proceedings were delayed in her court until she arrived.
A blue Citroen Saxo suffered a blowout on the northbound M90 and this led to ”multiple collisions”. A blue Peugeot 206 was also involved.
A blue Vauxhall Corsa also broke down on the approach to Balmanno Hill on the northbound M90.
Sergeant Alan Pettigrew, of Tayside Police’s road policing unit at Perth, said the motorway had been affected by collisions and black ice.
He said: ”There was a four-vehicle collision around 6am on the northbound carriageway of the M90. One of the cars had suffered a blowout and a subsequent puncture. We also had a collision on the southbound carriageway around the same time.”
He added: ”In addition, one vehicle went down an embankment. BEAR Scotland then put down grit on the hard shoulder near a crash barrier where this happened.”
Sgt Pettigrew said: ”I’m not sure if the collisions were a reaction to the black ice. Part of the problem was rain falling on the roads in the cold conditions.” He added: ”So there was a fair bit of disruption, but thankfully no one was injured.”
A police spokesman said: ”One of the lanes was blocked with the vehicles and the debris. BEAR Scotland were contacted and drivers were advised to approach the area with caution. The multiple collisions caused significant delays.”
A BEAR spokesman said: ”Our gritters were out on the M90 we treated the road at 3am as part of our winter maintenance programme. The police informed us this morning of a road vehicle accident on the M90 northbound near Balmanno Hill.”
He added: ”The road was closed for a period of time to allow the police to safely undertake their investigation and to enable us to clear away any debris.”
A council spokesman said all roads were gritted but added the weather is difficult.