A90 Gateside slip roads to New Grange

 Works begin Sunday 11 July

A section of the southbound A90 south of Forfar near Invereighty is set to benefit from carriageway surfacing improvements with work set to get underway from Sunday.

The project will address a section of the route from the Gateside slip roads towards New Grange.

The £500,000 project will involve teams carrying out essential surfacing improvements using a technique known as ‘crack and seat’ – a form of road pavement maintenance which incorporates a sustainable approach to help pro-long the life of the carriageway.

The process involves using heavy machinery to create a series of hairline cracks on the cement-bound layer beneath the bituminous layers of the pavement.  This helps to distribute the strain and pressure of traffic running over the top, creating a stable base that can increase the lifespan of the cement layer by up to 20 years, reducing the need for any major road reconstruction work.   The top layers will then be relaid to create a smoother and safer journey for road users.

The project is scheduled to get underway from 7.30pm on Sunday 11 July and is planned to take place over five days using 24-hour working, with all improvements expected to be completed by 6.30am on Saturday 17 July.

The work is scheduled to take place as follows:

• Sunday 11 July, from 7.30pm – Single lane closures will be in place in both directions of the A90 to allow teams to safely remove barriers and set up the contraflow system.
• Monday 12 July, from 6.30am – A contraflow system will be in place to safely escort traffic past the work area. Due to the location of the project, the Gateside southbound on and off slip roads will be closed throughout the work, with diversions in place via Invereighty and Emmock Roundabout.
• Friday 16 July, from 10pm – All traffic will be switched to single lane operation overnight while teams remove the contraflow system.
• Saturday 17 July, by 6.30am – All works complete and road fully re-opened.

Ian Stewart, BEAR Scotland’s North East Representative, said: “This latest £500,000 investment from Transport Scotland will allow us to carry out surfacing improvements on this section of the A90 to ensure our network continues to operate at the highest standard.

“Using the ‘crack and seat’ method will help prolong the life of the carriageway and reduce the need for future deep structural work, creating a more sustainable road network.

“The traffic management is essential to ensure the safety of roadworkers and motorists during this project. Regrettably, due to the scope of the work being undertaken the traffic management needs to remain in place throughout the period but our teams will do all they can to complete the works as quickly and safely as possible.

“We thank motorists for their patience in advance while our teams carry out these essential improvements on the A90. We encourage road users to plan their journeys in advance by checking the Traffic Scotland website for up to date traffic information and allow some extra time to reach their destination.”

Real-time journey planning information can be obtained by visiting www.trafficscotland.org, twitter at @trafficscotland or the new mobile site my.trafficscotland.org.