As Berwickshire residents face the prospect of a further A1 closure this weekend, local MSP Rachael Hamilton is calling for a rethink from transport authorities.
The A1 was due to be closed at Houndwood on the 11th and 12th of August, with another closure planned on 17th – 19th. On Saturday, a diversion via Coldingham was set up, but the volume of traffic caused huge tailbacks and the A1 was reopened under a convoy system mid-morning. On Sunday, the diversion was also scrapped, but motorists took to Twitter to complain about tailbacks of over 75 minutes
Ahead of the closures, Rachael wrote to Transport Scotland to ask them what consideration had been taken to businesses on the A1 who would be losing business due to the closures.
After the disruption caused over the weekend, he is now calling for Transport Scotland and Amey to come up with an alternative plan for the roadworks.
Rachael Hamilton MSP said:
“I wrote to the Transport Minister urging him to revise the roadworks timetable urgently and received no response”
“The A1 is a vital route through Berwickshire and on into East Lothian and Northumberland. Transport Scotland need to seriously reconsider their plan of action to avoid significant disruption this weekend”
“Businesses and residents do not want another weekend of upheaval. It is simply not fair on them, especially when an overnight closure could be implemented instead”
“I will also write to the Minister and demand he uses his authority to ensure these roadworks are changed for the benefit of the local community”