Anger erupts over ‘totally unnecessary’ 96-mile diversion for a 30-mile road closure in Scotland
8 October 2024, 11:45
Drivers have told of their anger after a road closure has sent some motorists on a 96-mile diversion route.
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A stretch of the A75 in southern Scotland between Castle Douglas and Newton Stewart will have to close between 8pm and 6am this week.
A diversion route sends drivers north on the A713 all the way to Ayr and back south again via the A77 and A714.
The diversion for the 40-minute route would take up to two-and-a-half hours to drive.
Overnight closures on the A75 take place from Monday night until Sunday morning, with more work planned between 28 October and 2 November.
One motorist said: “Seems an insanely long diversion - 2 hours (at 50 mph), and the equivalent of London to Birmingham - but also, you could just go by New Galloway, which is only 32 miles. No need to go all the way up to Ayr.”
One resident who lives on a minor road near the A75 said: "The inconvenience to locals is the unusually heavy traffic late into the night, in what is normally a very quiet area when the content of the A75 turns up on your doorstep.
“"There is wear and tear on our roads, which have little or no maintenance at all," he added.
"There has been no signage placed to stop them from using this unusable route for them creating more havoc late into the night,” Mike Edwards told the BBC.
Amey, which maintains the route, said the road needed to be closed for essential maintenance of the carriageway.
It “said every attempt" had been made to reduce disruption.
