TRAFFIC WAS brought to a standstill on one of Scotland’s busiest roads yesterday, with a van driver having to be rescued when his vehicle became partially submerged.
The deluge arrived in Perthshire and the incessant rain led to the A9 Perth to Inverness road being closed for several hours near Ballinluig on Thursday as four fire appliances battled to pump water from the area, with driving conditions being described as “hazardous” by Traffic Scotland.
Several other roads were either closed or were “passable with care” in Perthshire, and motorists were asked to take care when driving over the Friarton Bridge, Perth, due to high winds.
Motorists faced lengthy delays as a result, with the A9 closed between the A822 junction at Dunkeld and A827 junction at Ballinluig. Traffic was diverted off the Jubilee Bridge and via Logierait for a period.
A motorist described back roads near Ballinluig as “more like sailing” than driving and said that traffic was at a standstill both northbound and southbound.
Roads at Tullimet and Guay were closed due to flooding, and Stormont Road, Scone, was closed between Abbey Road and the A94.
In addition, the A94 Perth Road, Scone, and the A93 at Upper Springland were both passable with care, while flooding also caused difficulties on the A94 Scone to Balbeggie road and on the A824 Auchterarder to Aberuthven road.
Also closed in the early hours of this morning were the A92 Dundee to Arbroath road northbound at Ethiebeaton, the A90 Glamis junction, the B954 Alyth to Meigle, the A911 Scotlandwell to Milnathort, A913 Newburgh to Abernethy.
The A85 St Fillans to Lochearnhead was also closed due to a landslide.
In Fife, various roads were closed, including the A91 West of Dairsie to Pitscottie route, part of the A915 and the Easter Lumbennie road in North-East Fife.
The road between Pittenweem Recycling Centre and Grangemuir Caravan Park also had to be closed due to a fallen tree.
Huntsmans Road in Glenrothes was shut to all traffic for much of last night.
There were bad flooding patches on roads throughout West Fife, particularly on the A907 Dunfermline to Alloa route.
North-East Fife roads were also badly affected, with severe surface water in and around Cupar and on roads between Melville Lodges roundabout and the Tay Bridge.
Fife Police told The Courier they had dealt with “numerous” accidents on the region’s roads including a man being hit by a car outside the Windsor Hotel on Victoria Road in Kirkcaldy.
The man is understood to have suffered a bump to his head and leg after being struck by the vehicle just after 5pm.
He was taken to Victoria Hospital by ambulance but his injuries were described as “minor”.
There was also a three-car accident at about 5pm on the Standing Stane Road between Leven and Kirkcaldy which caused long tailbacks for some time.
A Fife Police spokesman said flooding had caused problems “all over Fife”.
The rain is forecast to ease off into the afternoon today, but further heavy rain is expected on Saturday.
For the latest flood warnings visit floodline.sepa.org.uk/floodupdates and for traffic news see trafficscotland.org