Edinburgh roadworks: 10 more days of disruption on Queensferry Road

Motorists in the west of Edinburgh are to face another 10 days of disruption on Queensferry Road.

The first phase of roadworks on Queensferry Road. Pic; Jon Savage

Scottish Power is carrying out further network upgrades in the area from 6pm tomorrrow as part of a £7.5 million project.

The power company received widespread criticism in the summer for its cable-laying work during the first phase, after it caused long tailbacks on the busy commuter route.

The overhaul was delayed after workers struck a gas main and the council demanded work could not take place during the August festival season.

A Tweet today from Edinburgh Travel News, which is run by members of the city council's roads team, says that the works have been "timed to coincide with school half-term break but delays are inevitable."

Both outside lanes of Queensferry Road will be closed between Quality Street and Clermiston Road North, and there will also be a contraflow in place west of Clermiston junction.

Clermiston Road North will also be closed both ways between Queensferry Road and Drum Brae Drive. Quality Street will be closed to northbound traffic.

Temporary traffic lights will be in place at the Main Street/Corbiehill Road junction and temporary pedestrian crossing facilities will be installed at Clermiston junction.

Scottish Power said that the work has been scheduled to coincide with the October school holiday, which typically sees a reduction in daily commuter traffic on the roads.

The work is scheduled to be fully completed on October 21st and the plan has been agreed with the City Council.

The project is required to upgrade existing infrastructure that has served the west of Edinburgh well for decades.

Craig Arthur, distribution director at SP Energy Networks, said: “This project is part of a major multi-million pound investment in Edinburgh’s electricity network. It is designed to boost the security of electricity supplies for thousands of homes and businesses for decades to come, and to support a smarter network of the future.

"Due to the level of work involved, the project has always been planned over two phases. We have been working closely with Edinburgh City Council for a long time to ensure that we can keep disruption for road users to a minimum. Our engineers and technicians will be working as hard as they can to complete the project as quickly as possible, and we apologise for any inconvenience experienced while the work is being carried out.”

The latest roadworks will begin just days after several drivers complained of hour-long delays when a section of Queensferry Road was closed off to install water, electricity and telephone connections to a new care home project in the Barnton area.

This project was also a resumption of work which had been ongoing in the summer but failed to finish in time.