Scottish Gas Networks is unable to say when heavy congestion that has plagued one of Perth’s busiest roads for five weeks will come to an end.
SGN has been carrying out emergency gas repairs on the A85 Crieff Road, at the junction of Unity Terrace, since March 24.
Temporary two-way lights have been in place on Crieff Road, and Unity Terrace has been shut completely.
Commuters and residents have voiced their anger at the resulting congestion on one of Perth’s main roads.
But SGN says more work is required, and no completion date has been estimated.
‘No end in sight’ for Perth gas works
One householder, who lives next to the gas works, told The Courier of his frustration.
He said: “It’s an absolute nightmare.
“I’ve lived here for 30 years and, for the first 10 of those, there were no roadworks.
“Every year after that it seems to be getting worse with them digging the road up.
“These works have been going on for over a month now with no end in sight.
“Often there’s days when there’s nobody working on the site.
“This is a main artery road in Perth and the issues it causes with traffic are unbelievable.”
‘Too early to say’ when SGN will complete Crieff Road project
The gas distribution firm could not say when work would be complete.
A spokesperson for SGN said: “We’re carrying out emergency repairs to our gas main in Crieff Road, Perth.
“For everyone’s safety, temporary two-way lights are in place at Crieff Road’s junction with Unity Terrace.
“Unity Terrace is also closed at this junction to help improve traffic flow on the main road.
“This is a complex repair which requires extensive work in challenging conditions due to the depth of the affected gas main and close proximity of other underground utilities.
“While we’re making progress, more is required to complete repairs and it’s too early to say how long this work will take at this stage.
“We’d like to thank the Perth community for your ongoing patience and support.”
The closure comes a year after a different section of Perth’s Crieff Road, between Newhouse Road and Huntingtower Road, was closed for six weeks for sewer repairs by Scottish Water.
Elsewhere in Perthshire, the Blairgowrie to Alyth road has closed again for a further three weeks of gas repairs.
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