MSP laments traffic chaos in town
Written by author on August 25, 2015
AN MSP has hit out at the huge traffic jams which hit Dumfries at the weekend because of the closure of the bypass for major repairs.
Dumfriesshire MSP Elaine Murray has hit out at Transport Scotland, the agency of the Scottish Government responsible for Trunk Roads, after major delays were caused in Dumfries on August 22 and 23 following the closure of a section of the A75 Dumfries Bypass.
A number of constituents have been in touch with Dr Murray to describe their frustration with the massive traffic jams which resulted in up to one hour journey times from one side of the town to the other.
Dr Murray has written to the Chief Executive of Transport Scotland, David Middleton, to determine what went wrong with the closure.
She said: “It’s no wonder that local people were so angry with the traffic delays over the weekend. Transport Scotland have obviously failed to properly consult with local people on the closure, otherwise they would have known that a number of festivals were taking place in the area.
“That, along with extra traffic resulting from the end of the English School holidays ended in utter chaos in the town. I also find it strange that Transport Scotland felt the need to close the entire stretch of the road, when previous resurfacing work has been completed using a convoy system.”
She added: “The real issue here isn’t the extreme delays, but the ripple effect they have on local businesses and therefore the local economy. Transport Scotland need to look into what went wrong over the weekend, and work to prevent it happening again during the next round of closures.”
