HARPER TAKES TRANSERV SCOTLAND TO TASK OVER POOR ROAD REPAIR STANDARDS

South Scotland MSP Emma Harper has written to Transerv, a sub-contractor of the Scottish Government responsible for the maintenance of Scotland’s trunk road network, over the poor state and standard of repair on the South West’s main arterial routes the A75, A76 and A77.

In a letter dated the 10th of May, the South Scotland MSP stated that her constituents are extremely disappointed with the poor standard of the repairs, and what appears to be minimal maintenance on these arterial routes which connect the South West of Scotland to the Central Belt, to the rest of the UK, and with Europe.

Ms Harper has said that urgent action must now be taken.

Commenting, Ms Harper added:

“Week in, week out, I receive reports from constituents and local groups about the unacceptable state of our roads in South West Scotland. Whether it be pot holes, cracks or overgrown shrubbery – which I observed on my drive from Stranraer to Edinburgh just on Monday – causing signage to be invisible. These potholes and cracks are costing my constituents money in blown out tyres, damage to vehicles and is making people in the South West feel as though they are being let down and forgotten when it comes to transport infrastructure.

“It is clear to me that something is going seriously wrong when my constituents, people who have lived and worked in Dumfries and Galloway for many years, are telling me that the state of our roads has got progressively worse over the past decade since Scotland Transerv was awarded the contract to maintain our roads at a reasonable standard – as dictated by their contract.

“One constituent described the repairs being carried out as a blow torch and bucket approach – which I am not sure is the most appropriate long lasting method to fixing the roads.

“I addition to writing to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity to seek an urgent meeting to discuss the poor state of our roads, I have also written to both Transport Scotland and Transerv, to set out a number of questions my constituents are seeking answers to. These questions include what Scotland Transerv believe a reasonable standard to mean, how they are monitoring the road to address defects, the timescale for addressing defects and the process for claims to be made from my constituents who have had their vehicles damaged while driving on the road.

“As always, I would encourage any constituent looking for any advice and support to contact me at any time.”