Transport Scotland are advising motorists to expect delays on the A8 road due to the £500 million M8/M73/M74 Motorway Improvements Project.

Traffic management will be in place from 06 May east and westbound between Baillieston and Newhouse for approximately three months.

This is due to construction work on two structures as part of the project, which includes the demolition of Bo'ness Road bridge (B799), which crosses the A8 at Chapelhall, and the construction of a widened bridge at Shawhead Junction.

A contraflow system will be in effect on the A8 on approach to the Chapelhall and Shawhead Junctions, reducing traffic to one lane in each direction from 8pm on Friday to 6am on Monday, each weekend.

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Graeme Reid, Project Manager for the multi-million pound scheme, said: "These works have been scheduled to take place over the weekends to avoid disruption to commuters during the morning and evening peaks. Two lanes will be reinstated in each direction ahead of the Monday morning rush hour.

"To date, the majority of works on the A8/M8 have taken place offline with minimal disruption to those using this route on a daily basis. Regular commuters travelling between Glasgow and Edinburgh will have seen the emerging line of the new M8 carriageways parallel to the A8.

"However, this year will see major works take place as we link the existing road with the new M8 motorway and its junctions, and there will be an unavoidable increase in traffic management as a result.

"We're working closely with our contractor, Scottish Roads Partnership (SRP), to minimise the disruption to road users as a result of this work."

Mr Reid added traffic restrictions will not be in place during the May Bank Holiday weekends, 30 April – 01 May and 28 – 29 May, and from 21 – 22 May.

When complete, the M8/M73/M74 Motorway Improvements Project will reduce congestion across the central Scotland motorway network, cutting daily commute times by 20 minutes from Glasgow to Edinburgh.

(LM)