Economy stuck in slow lane steered by anti-car SNP

DURING a recent car journey with visitors from England, I had to give directions from the M8 on to Great Western Road in Glasgow. What was once a simple motorway junction is now a labyrinth of cones, barriers, diversion signs and wire-mesh fencing that would challenge even the best navigators.

- Ben Borland Scottish Express Editor

"Has this been going on long?" asked one plaintive passenger. To general bemusement, I replied that the roadworks began back in 2021.

Here we are, four years later, and the crumbling concrete of the Woodside Viaduct is still under repair.

Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop has refused to guarantee it will be finished by next year... although I wouldn’t be surprised if the work is still ongoing at the end of the decade. In fact, this is just one of hundreds of examples from all over Scotland where roadworks seem to take forever.

A new report by BBC Scotland confirms the number of recorded roadworks is now 28% higher than it was before the Covid pandemic.

Kevin Hamilton, the Scottish Road Works Commissioner (SRWC), received 166,295 notices of work starting in 2024/25. This was up from 129,713 notices in 2019/20 and 104,670 notices in 2009/10 — an increase of nearly 60%.

YET, as any motorist will tell you, these repairs have very little to do with fixing potholes and the roads remain as cratered as ever. The BBC blames water, gas, electricity and telecoms utility firms for the rise in roadworks, especially the roll-out of ultrafast broadband.