Transport Scotland's trunk road operating company, BEAR Scotland has announced the successful delivery of two major road improvement schemes on the A7 through Teviothead and Hawick, following close engagement with communities along the key Borders route.

The schemes saw a total of 3.1km of road resurfaced and 4,100 tonnes of material removed and replaced, in improvements worth over £900,000.

BEAR Scotland worked hard to minimise any disruption to local communities caused by the overnight works, particularly as one of the sites was in Hawick town centre, adjacent to the high school, college and a number of residential and commercial properties.

In the planning stages ahead of the works, BEAR Scotland met with local elected members well in advance to ensure that the proposed dates were suitable and did not clash with ongoing flood defence works in Hawick. Mitigation measures were agreed to maintain local access and limit noise levels. Over 500 letters were then distributed to local residents and businesses, and advance signage was erected. Teams knocked on doors to explain the works to key locations such as the post office, community centre, school and college.

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At the start of the works on site, BEAR Scotland coordinated with Scottish Water so that they could carry out necessary works in advance and all tasks could be completed in one working window.

Tommy Deans, BEAR Scotland's South East Network Manager, said: "These improvements will benefit local people and users of the A7 every day, however we appreciate that roadworks like this can be challenging for those living and working nearby. It was important that we did as much as possible to engage with local communities and minimise disruption as much as possible.

"We want to express our appreciation to road users and local people for their patience and understanding while we completed the resurfacing. We had a particularly good response to temporary parking restrictions, and this allowed the works to proceed efficiently.

"It was also great that we were able to coordinate with Scottish Water – mitigating further disruption in the same area."

BEAR Scotland's South East Unit manages and maintains 314 miles of trunk roads through some of the busiest sections of the country, from central Scotland to the Scottish Borders. It includes 757 bridges and structures including the Queensferry Crossing and Forth Road Bridge, as well as other major bridges such as the Kincardine Bridge and Clackmannanshire Bridge.