Bathgate town centre road project completed

Extensive work was required to partially reconstruct the carriageway structure of this busy town centre road, which provides an important access route to three major supermarkets, two nurseries and a primary school.
The works involved stripping back the deep structural road layers, which had showed signs of deterioration and then the time-consuming process of reconstructing the road to its final surface. 
Other work required included replacing five raised table speed reducing measures, new high friction surfacing at the controlled crossings and the application of new road markings. One of the existing pelican crossing points was refurbished and existing ironwork such as drains and manholes was renewed.
Up to six weeks was planned for carrying out the project, but favourable weather conditions, seven day working and hard work by council staff allowed the works to be finished in three weeks. 
When the council is carrying out a major road repair project like this, officers always have to build in time to allow for unforeseen site conditions and bad weather, usually a common occurrence in Scotland, which can hugely impact on timescales. Certain elements of the work cannot be completed in poor weather conditions.
It is often not possible to completely assess the full underlying condition and deterioration of a road until the upper layers have been excavated and detailed inspections take place. Only then can the exact damage to the lower construction layers, after years of heavy traffic, become apparent. 
In this case, the conditions were not as severe as our Engineers estimated, and the good weather conditions meant that the work was not delayed.
We are legally only permitted to close a road for the duration of the advertised road closure, so our Engineers needed to make sure that time is available for any additional work that may be anticipated.
With a school and two nurseries nearby, it was also essential to schedule this work during the school summer holiday period, to try and limit disruption as much as possible.  This is also a quieter period for traffic with many families taking time away, however we also have to co-ordinate works to not conflict with gala days and other community events that may be organised in our towns and villages.
We appreciate that vital work on significant town centre roads in particular can be disruptive., however, it is necessary to ensure roads continue to be safe and usable for residents, businesses and all road users, and hopefully, everyone benefits from such projects.