Project set to begin on Monday 28 February for five weeks

Two pedestrian crossings on High Street in Crieff are to be upgraded to new signalised puffin crossing systems to improve road safety in the area, with works set to get underway from Monday 28 February.

The five week project will involve teams installing new puffin crossings on the A85 at the Crieff Royal Mail Delivery Office and adjacent to James Square. In addition, road surfacing and footway improvements will be carried out and new road markings will be installed.

The project will get underway from Monday 28 February and is expected to take place over five weeks, subject to weather conditions. The majority of the pedestrian crossing work will take place between 9.30am and 4pm each day. No works are programmed to place over the weekends.

To protect roadworkers and motorists, temporary traffic lights will be in place throughout the project. Due to the nature of the works, some sections of the footway will remain closed at times with signed diversion routes in place. There will also be two temporary pedestrian crossing points in operation during the project.

Surfacing improvements are then scheduled to begin on Monday 28 March over six nights with work taking place between 7pm and 2am each night. A 10mph convoy traffic management system will be in place on the A85 whilst resurfacing operations are being undertaken. Traffic management will be removed during daytime periods when works are not taking place to keep disruption to a minimum. No surfacing works are programmed on Friday and Saturday night.

Consultation is underway with local residents, businesses, the local authority and emergency services to make them aware of the works and the traffic management arrangements that will be in place.

Eddie Ross, BEAR Scotland’s North West Representative, said: “Road safety is a top priority for BEAR Scotland and Transport Scotland, and this scheme on the A85 in Crieff is part of our commitment to improving pedestrian facilities on the trunk road network.

“The new controlled crossing facilities in Crieff will allow users to safely cross this section of the A85 helping to improve road safety for the community and encourage more active travel journeys.

“The traffic management arrangements are essential to protect our workforce as well as motorists and pedestrians, however we’ve arranged these works to take place off peak during the daytime with following later during the overnight period to help minimise disruption. We will also have two temporary pedestrian crossings in operation continuously to provide pedestrians with safe crossing points during the works.

“Our teams will do all they can to complete the project as quickly and as safely as possible.

We would encourage all road users to plan their journeys in advance by checking the Traffic Scotland website for up to date journey information.”

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