A timescale for the reopening of a bridge over the A90 in Perthshire has been revealed.
The flyover connecting St Madoes and Glencarse has been restricted since it was damaged by a digger in March.
The road was initially closed and then reopened under traffic-light control – with southbound traffic restricted to one lane.
Amey – which operates the road on behalf of Traffic Scotland – has now indicated when the road may finally be fully reopened.
Work to take place on A90 flyover
An Amey spokesperson said: “Specialist structural testing and investigation works are provisionally planned to commence in mid-November.
“These works will help inform what will be required by way of a permanent repair to restore the integrity of the bridge and remove current traffic restrictions.
“Following these investigations, Amey will review the temporary traffic management arrangements with a view to removing them until the full repairs are ready to be carried out.
“However, this is contingent on there being no continued potential risk to road users.
“There will also be a requirement to install future traffic management arrangements at this location to allow permanent repair work to be undertaken.”
Councillor cheered by Glencarse bridge progress
Perthshire councillor Angus Forbes has been pressing for a reopening of the bridge for many months.
In September he branded the situation a “total shambles” after repairs were delayed due to the discovery of unidentified protected species nearby.
The Conservative member for Carse of Gowrie says he discussed the Glencarse bridge in a meeting with Transport Scotland and Amey on Tuesday.
He added: “They now have a licence issued by Nature Scot to allow them to start work on the bridge which means the investigation into how to fix the bridge can now begin.
“This has been over six months since that bridge was hit and if the law says that we need a licence from Nature Scot to get the works going then they should have prioritised that licence so the work could begin sooner.
“I am pleased that lane one of the A90 will be reopened soon and traffic may stop taking the back roads round St Madoes to avoid the delays.
“And I hope that Amey can get the bridge fixed as quickly as possible.
“I also asked Amey about some sort of advanced warning to try and stop this happening again, and they have agreed to go and look at what’s possible.”
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