A promise to improve road safety for thousands of visitors to Scotland has finally been fulfilled following a 25-year wait.
For years routes and bridges around the community of Bridge of Cally in Perthshire have failed to meet UK road standards, leading to chaotic and troublesome driving for many motorists.
Though relatively remote, routes such as the A93 and B951 are used each year by huge numbers of summer tourists travelling between Perthshire and Royal Deeside.
In winter, their place is taken by countless skiers and snowsports fans making their way north to Glenshee.
Junctions were, however, blighted by dangerous blind spots, while tight bends made for dangerous driving conditions for residents and visitors alike in difficult weather.
Crossings such as the Lair and Cray bridges had also become increasingly unsuitable for heavy vehicles. Temporary measures and restrictions were put in place, but they were increasingly restrictive to road users.
All the while plan after plan to improve matters was put forward and then discarded, including a major engineering scheme presented to the council in 2007.
Once the authority’s preferred option, it was delayed time and time again and, by 2011, the cost of that scheme had risen to an ultimately prohibitive £14 million.
A less ambitious package of works was finally green-lit and work began in 2012 to improve visibility at junctions, general road safety for motorists and bring roads up to the standard required for large vehicles.
Now Perth and Kinross Council has announced that work to upgrade the A93/B951 Lair junction north of Bridge of Cally is complete and the junction is set to be reopened fully to traffic before Christmas.
Replacement of the Lair Bridge is also complete and works have improved the drainage and surfacing of a section of the B951 adjacent to the Shee Water.
Weather permitting, traffic lights at the junction are scheduled to be removed and both the A93 and B951 should be fully reopened to vehicles by Friday December 20.
Blairgowrie and Glens Councillor Caroline Shiers told The Courier: “In the winter these roads have been very difficult for local people and anyone living in this area will be very pleased to see these improvements finally made.
“I was elected to Perth and Kinross council seven years ago and I was well aware then that this was a long-running issue. That these works are now finished really is good news.”
Council leader Ian Miller added: “This has been a major project to upgrade an important junction in east Perthshire and improve road safety for all users.
“I am very pleased that we have now completed both the main works and the additional improvements on the B951, which will help reduce disruption to the local travelling public in the coming year by avoiding the need for any further scheduled closures on the B951.
“My thanks go to our staff and our contractors, I & H Brown, for all their efforts and to the local community and motorists for their patience during the project.”