Newport-on-Tay mum Suzi Morrow is one of the many people looking to avoid the Tay Road Bridge this summer.
From June 12, the dual carriageway over the Tay Road Bridge will be reduced to single lanes in both directions, creating large traffic jams.
“It is going to cause backlogs,” said Suzi, 53, “I’ll be avoiding it as much as I can. I’ll only be going to Dundee if it’s absolutely necessary.”
Suzi Morrow has lived in Tayport for the last twenty years.
“There’s a huge part of the residential population on this side of the bridge who work, or study or train in Dundee.
“A lot of people rely on the bridge. They’re going to have to add a huge amount of time onto their journeys.”
Suzi said the roadworks on the Dundee side of the bridge led to serious tailbacks last weekend.
A quick errand ended up taking three hours for the mum, who noted that it would have been quicker getting to Dundee via Perth.
You think it’s bad now, just wait until next week.’
Suzi Morrow, Tayport resident
But the traffic jams over the weekend are nothing compared to the “absolute chaos” that Suzi fears will come from June 12, when half the Tay Road Bridge is closed for resurfacing.
The crossing between Dundee and Fife is to undergo resurfacing work from Monday (June 12).
The first phase is expected to run until November 2023 and will see the Dundee-bound side of the bridge resurfaced.
“There are a lot of people in Tayport saying: ‘you think it’s bad now, just wait until next week’.
“It will be absolute chaos,” she added.
Traffic accessing the bridge from B946 will need to follow a diversion on the A92 southbound to Forgan Roundabout before re-joining the A92 Northbound.
Suzi added: “Commuters from Taybridgehead will have to access the bridge from Forgan roundabout. So the tailbacks will extend down the A92 and A914.
“Locals are expecting possible delays of up to 45 minutes at peak times.
“Nobody is looking forward to this, especially compounded by the road works and bus strikes and lane restrictions during events at Slessor Gardens.”
‘Unreasonable’ Tay Road Bridge works, says Dundee commuter
The Tay Road Bridge lane closure is also going to be an issue for Dundee to Fife commuters, like Ross Martin.
Ross, 36, travels from Dundee to St Andrews every day to work in Morrisons’ bakery.
With the lane closures beginning Monday 12, he is planning to wake up at around 3.30 in the morning to make it to work on time for his shift at 5am.
“It seems pretty unreasonable to tell people to ‘plan ahead’ for six months,” Ross said.
“Obviously I understand that they’re doing work to the bridge, but it seems unfair to tell people to just ‘deal with it’ for six months.
“It’s a long time.
“And we’re coming into summer. People want to go places. It will affect people leaving Dundee to go to Fife and further beyond.”
With residents from nearby towns like Tayport considering avoiding Dundee, what about the businesses within the city?
Alison Henderson is the CEO of Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce.
She said: “It is going to have a significant impact on people coming in and out of the city.
“It’s also a long-term thing, it isn’t going to be two weeks of pain and then we’re back to normal again.”
While she said there will be an impact on Dundee businesses, Alison said that there would be an “even worse impact” if some weren’t working flexibly or remotely now.
She also pointed to online shopping as a potential saving grace for business in Dundee and Broughty Ferry, which could lose footfall thanks to the tailbacks.
She added: “I’m usually a bit of a glass half-full type person, so I hope that we can learn to work around it and there isn’t a huge impact, although that is a possibility.”
Is cycling the solution for bridge ‘chaos’?
Others believe people in Dundee and Fife could get on their bikes to avoid the tailbacks.
Iain Hay is the development officer at the Dundee Cycle Hub. He said: “I would hope it would increase cycling.
“Once it starts to impact people coming into Dundee, within two or three weeks, drivers might make that modal change and decide to park up at the other side of the river and bike in.
“During the summer months it might be especially popular. But a lot of people are fair weather cyclists.”
With graduation ceremonies at the University of St Andrews also starting June 12, there could be an impact on attending staff and students.
More than 2,000 students from 90 countries will be taking part in the summer graduation ceremonies this week.
A University spokesperson said: “While we hope the planned work won’t be an issue for graduating students, it may affect our staff who travel in from Dundee and Angus.
“We will be in touch with staff and students this week to make sure they are aware of the lane closures and the impact it will have on travel to and from our campuses in St Andrews and Guardbridge for the duration of the work.”
Tay Road Bridge lane closure will be ‘inconvenient’
Drivers with wide or abnormal load vehicles will not be able to use the Tay Road Bridge at all.
Lib Dem Fife councillor Gary Holt of Howe of Fife and Tay Coast warned that drivers should expect delays.
The councillor is also chair of the Tay Road Bridge Joint Board.
He added: “While we understand that this will inconvenient, particularly for people who use the bridge every day, the contract is essential to keep the structure safe and in good condition.”
Conversation