Motorists in Dundee have been asked to plan their journeys as the next phase of the city’s waterfront regeneration gets under way.
Off-peak lane closures will be in place in and around the Riverside roundabout from Tuesday as major work to realign nearby roads starts.
The huge project, which is expected to take until May to complete, will see lane restrictions in place between 9.30am and 3.30pm, potentially causing a major headache for those making their way to and from the city centre and railway station.
Will Dawson, city development committee convener, has called on motorists to make themselves aware of the changes and plan their journeys. But he says the new phase of works marks an ”exciting time” in the project.
”This is the next big stage of the process and will see the removal of the podium block and Tayside House,” he said. ”There’s been a lot of stuff going on down there for a while and we have the work compound based next to the Olympia.
”There’s been a lot of big changes at the bridge already. It’s an exciting time and hopefully everything will go okay. I would just ask people to plan their journey ahead and to ask for their patience.”
Next week will also see overnight closures to South Marketgait as the footbridge over the road is removed. It will be taken down by contractors Safedem, resulting in closures of the road on January 17, 18 and 19.
All traffic, including drivers using the Tay road bridge, will be diverted using the ring road.
Demolition work on the podium block and the footbridge connecting it to Tayside House is scheduled for February.
Roger Grace, team leader, has advised motorists to stay away from the area if at all possible.
”It’s all part of a bigger jigsaw,” he said. ”We are trying to have the minimum possible impact on drivers by doing the works off-peak, but that means that they take twice as long. That’s the biggest problem for us. If possible then please avoid the area.”
The work at Riverside is just the first of two phases of work that will be undertaken this month.
The end of January will see occasional closures to the Tay road bridge on ramp at Customs House as work begins there on widening the ramp to accommodate two lanes of traffic.
Closures will again take place at off-peak times, with traffic being diverted between 9.30am and 3.30pm and 7pm and 5am.
For more information visit www.dundeewaterfront.com