Seòmar agus comataidhean

Transport Scotland officials oversee the work of our contractors. They collaborate across disciplines and contractual boundaries to ensure work is completed in the areas of most need and that it represents best value.

Officials are supported by the Performance Audit Group (PAG). PAG is employed by the Scottish Ministers to provide independent auditing of the Operating Companies’ performance to ensure that the requirements of the contract are met, that work is carried out to the required technical specification, and that financial valuations are correct.

Officials work in partnership with PAG to manage contract risks in accordance with Scottish Government policy. The most significant risks are transferred to Roads Directorate’s risk register for completeness.

Please see the following table which provides the costs of maintaining the 2297 streetlights on the A90.

Transport Scotland’s Traffic Scotland Infrastructure Contractor, Amey Ltd, is paid a monthly Unitary Charge for the inspection, maintenance and repair of ITS (Intelligent Transport System) roadside infrastructure and individual costs specific to emergency telephones cannot be disaggregated.

Current installation costs for both cat’s eyes and emergency telephones relate to commercially sensitive information that would be inappropriate to share. It could be argued by incumbent Operating Companies and DBFO Companies that disclosing this information could provide competitors with a pricing advantage in future similar tendering exercises

Safety concerns are recorded as defects and addressed in accordance with contractual requirements and timescales.

Safety defects and remedial actions on the A90 over the last five years are detailed below:

• A90 840 Portlethan Overbridge – Damaged parapet mesh. Parapet mesh was replaced.
• A90 630 Stracathro Overbridge - Damage to Vehicle Restraint System (VRS) post. VRS post replaced.
• A90 310 Kings Cross West Overbridge – Plugged drain. Drain cleared.

Refurbishment and upgrades to the A90 Kingsway, Dundee Strathmartine and Old Glamis footbridges are planned for the 2025-26 financial year.

These works are currently at the tendering stage so a detailed construction programme is unavailable. Preparatory works have commenced on site with temporary pedestrian crossings being installed prior to the footbridges being removed from site for refurbishment/upgrade.

Transport Scotland has developed an Approach to Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience (ACCAR), which provides a strategic overview of our approach primarily on infrastructure and services directly under Transport Scotland control. A key deliverable of this work is the development of a Trunk Road Adaptation Plan, based on a climate vulnerability and risk assessment using the latest UK climate projections. The Trunk Road Adaptation Plan will be published in 2025. It includes key interventions and recommendations for further adapting the Trunk Road Network. There will be a focus on risks associated with increased surface water flooding, river flooding, river scour and landslides.

The Trunk Road Adaptation Plan will complement the work of our roads Vulnerable Locations Operational Group (VLOG), which was established in 2021 in line with the commitments set out in the National Transport Strategy Delivery Plan 2020 – 2022 with an initial focus on delivering short-term cost-effective actions, whilst developing a move to a long-term proactive approach, including a dedicated budget for climate change adaptation.

The VLOG has targeted resource on early flood level warning systems around A90 river crossings and undertaken specific bridge scour assessments and inspections to national standards to enable resources to be focused on potential future risk areas

Following the incident, ecological surveys were required before detailed structural investigations and repair works could begin. These identified protected species in the vicinity of the bridge and as such, repairs could not commence until further surveys were completed. These processes cannot be circumvented as they are a statutory requirement, and Transport Scotland must ensure compliance with legislation.

Scottish Ministers have a duty of care to ensure its structures are safe for public use. Our maintenance, strengthening and replacement programmes ensure that all structures and their elements are routinely inspected to determine they are fit for use as well as to implement measures to mitigate any impact to the network.

The prioritisation of bridges and structures maintenance follows a Value Management Risk Approach using the following four criteria:

1.Safety – the overall effects on the end user, including fatalities and injuries that would be caused by a failure.

2.Functionality – the impact of a loss or reduction in service. This may be considered at route, structure or component level.

3.Environment – Environmental impacts, such as pollution caused through traffic delay, the sensitivity of the route/area, etc.

4.Sustainability – of both expenditure and workload, where the aim is to reach a state of steady expenditure and workload, avoiding the build-up of a backlog of unavoidable, essential work by doing effective, targeted preventative maintenance.

Our Operating Companies develop a 1 and 3 year programmes of bridge maintenance works, which are reviewed by Transport Scotland. Maintenance works are programmed based on priority . Structural Reviews are also carried out in accordance with the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges standard CS 451, which determines the requirement for any structure assessment, and these are included in the 1 and 3 year programmes.

Please see the following table which provides the costs of upgrading the 2297 streetlights on the A90.