Motorists' 'need for speed' leads to further road closure on M80 near Denny
BEAR Scotland has been forced to put further road closures in place on a motorway to protect workers as motorists fail to comply with speed restrictions.
Overnight northbound carriageway closures will be in place on the M80 between Junctions 7 and 9 on every Monday to Friday night and most Sunday nights until July 6, to protect workers carrying out gantry replacement works from speeding traffic.
A full programme of overnight carriageway and lane closures has already been announced to facilitate a series of major works on the motorway, however, it is now necessary to increase the number of full carriageway closures to ensure the safety of the workforce.
BEAR Scotland’s South East bridges manager David Bishop said: “Major works to replace the gantry are progressing well. Unfortunately, on nights where the motorway has remained open, significant numbers of vehicles passing the works are not complying with the temporary 40mph speed limit, putting the safety of our workforce at risk.
“Traffic data shows that thousands of vehicles per day are travelling through this section at 60mph or more. We have tried to limit the number of times we need to fully close the carriageway, however, there is nothing more important than ensuring everyone gets home safely at the end of each shift.
We have therefore taken the difficult decision to fully close the M80 northbound on all working nights until this project is complete. We thank motorists, and residents on diversion routes, for their understanding that safety of our workforce is paramount in this matter.”