Edinburgh's Dalmahoy junction: Work due to start this summer / autumn on £1.6 million upgrade

Residents have been campaigning for more than 35 years for an upgrade of the junction on the busy A71, which has been an accident blackspot.

Two years ago councillors approved a £1.6 million scheme for a fully-signalised junction, but the project required the purchase of small pieces of land around the junction from three different landowners and one of the landowners died, leading to a delay.

A full upgrade of the dangerous Dalmahoy junction on the A71 on the outskirts of Edinburgh was approved in December 2022. Work is due to start this summer / autumn.

The Evening News reported in January how residents were frustrated at the lack of progress .

But now the council says it is "much closer" to a conclusion which will see it acquire all the necessary land and it looks like work could get under way soon.

A report to the transport and environment committee on Thursday, April 3, says: "The necessary land acquisition is now progressing, and construction is expected to start, subject to conclusion of land acquisition and occupation agreements, in summer/autumn 2025."

There have been several serious accidents at the junction, which includes the entrance to the Dalmahoy hotel and country club.

A council report in 2015 said a fully-signalised junction was the only practical solution, but in 2021 the council opted for a reduced scheme involving just a pedestrian crossing and a lower speed limit. That was reversed in December 2022 when a full upgrade with traffic lights and pedestrian crossing got the go-ahead.

Committee convener Stephen Jenkinson, who is also a councillor for Pentland Hills ward, which includes Dalmahoy, said it was a big project which had been talked about for some considerable time.

He said: "I'm keen to see spades in the ground there, sooner rather than later. I get a constant stream of emails from constituents worried about that junction and now the fabric of that road is starting to break up so we need to continue to invest."

Meanwhile, work is continuing on plans for an upgrade of the King’s Road junction at Portobello, scene of two fatal accidents where cyclists died in 2019 and 2020.

A report to the committee says: “A preferred design layout was developed and shared with ward councillors and stakeholders in summer 2024. Officers are currently completing details for the off-road cycle infrastructure and will promote the necessary [traffic orders] shortly.”

Detailed costings for the project have yet to be finalised, but they are expected to total around £1.5 million. An update is expected in May.