Business owners in the Carse of Gowrie say a broken road bridge is threatening their livelihoods.
The St Madoes flyover, on the A90 between Perth and Dundee, has been out of action for nearly six weeks after it was struck by a flatbed truck transporting an excavator.
Road chiefs are working on long-term plans to restore the damaged crossing. They hope to be able to reopen one lane to traffic – from Glencarse to St Madoes – soon.
However, businesses in Glencarse say ongoing uncertainty is putting their futures in jeopardy.
They have reported a dramatic downturn in trade since the accident at the end of November.
Michael Young, who runs the Chestnut Tree coffee shop, said: “This has hit us really hard. Half of our customers come from the road and they can’t get to us because they can’t access us from the Perth-bound side of the carriageway.
“We really rely on that passing trade.”
He said: “I think we are down by about 40% since the bridge closed six weeks ago.”
Mr Young, who has called for traffic lights as a temporary solution, said: “This isn’t the busiest time of year for us, but if this happened in the summer it would be catastrophic.”
He said businesses could “go under” unless a solution is found soon.
The coffee shop’s Vi Clark added: “It has made a noticeable difference to us. We are usually very busy on Monday mornings, but we’ve only had a few people in today.”
Sara Brown, who runs the Mary’s Patch textile supplies shop at the old post office said: “A lot of our customers don’t feel very comfortable about driving through diversions, on roads they are not familiar with, and as a result we have seen an increase in mail orders.
“That obviously causes some extra inconvenience for us because we have to spend extra time and money getting to the post office to send off packages.”
She said: “We just want to hear a solution. We want to know what is going to be done to help us.
“If this continues until February, then we will have to think very carefully about making changes to the business.”
Cath Paterson, of Lindon Garden Centre said: “We have had a drop in customers since the bridge closed. There might be other factors at play, such as the weather, but it has definitely been quieter this year.
“We sell a lot of Christmas trees at this time of year, but we are finding that people just aren’t coming from St Madoes because they don’t want to go along the diversions.
“The other day we had some people who bought a tree from us, and they decided to carry it home on foot rather than drive.”
Bosses at the Glencarse Hotel also said the closure had affected its businesses dramatically, and it was costing staff more to get to and from work.
SNP MSP John Swinney met locals at the weekend to discuss the impact of the road closure. He said: “The prolonged closure of the flyover, particularly at such a busy time of year, is clearly inconvenient.
“I am sympathetic to the impact that this closure has had on businesses and commuters, and I am hopeful that it will re-open soon.”
He added: “There is a responsibility to ensure that all road users are kept safe. The repairs being undertaken are complex, and it is essential that all necessary steps are taken to ensure the flyover is safe before it is re-opened.”
Work continues on plan to fix flyover
The Halloween night crash caused major damage to two of the bridge’s six steel beams.
Trunk road authority BEAR Scotland and Perth and Kinross Council – which maintains the actual road surface – are in talks with Transport Scotland about a possible solution and believe reopening one lane, from Glencarse to St Madoes, is the safest option.
However, a review of traffic management is also proposed and counters could be installed to measure the number of vehicles coming off the slip road.
This data could strengthen the case for temporary traffic lights, but Transport Scotland is concerned that this could lead to traffic backing-up onto the A90, if the lights failed.
Transport Scotland has been unable to say when the bridge will be repaired.
A spokesman said: “We understand the frustration for drivers and businesses caused by these works but, ultimately, safety must be our primary concern in dealing with an incident like this.
“Our operating company, BEAR Scotland, is arranging the installation of temporary barriers on the overbridge, which should allow one lane to reopen to vehicles.
“Options for traffic management have been discussed with Perth and Kinross Council and will be kept under review.”
He added: “Designs for permanent repairs to the flyover are being carried out as quickly as possible and we will keep stakeholders informed as this work progresses.”
A spokesman for BEAR Scotland said: “Our teams have been working in liaison with Scottish Water to complete repairs to the areas around the bridge damaged following the bridge strike in late October. Engineers are also progressing with designs for repairs to the structure.”
“Nobody is asking for anyone to do anything unsafe,” he said.
“However, we local residents want the bridge re-opening as soon as possible and call on Transport Minister Michael Matheson MSP to instruct Transport Scotland / BEAR Scotland to increase the priority of this work.”
