Delays to road repairs in Cumbernauld sparks anger

That’s the claim from Councillor Tom Johnston who believes that North Lanarkshire Council is squandering council taxpayers’ money as repairs to the footbridge in Wilderness Brae fail to reach their completion.

Partially cordoning off the area has limited access to both Kildrum and Seafar via the slip road since last November, following the accident to the bridge which necessitated the repair.

And the Scottish Nationalist has written to NLC’s environmental services boss Paul Jukes to flag up his concerns.

“This seems an excessive delay,” said Councillor Johnston.

“The council is forking out £400 to contractors simply to hire support pillars for the bridge.

“That represents a tidy earner of £12,000 to date. Another £30,000 has been dished out in temporary traffic and support arrangements. So we are £42,000 down and not a penny spent on repairs after seven months.”

He believes that the council’s intention is to claw the money back via loss adjusters acting on behalf of the vehicle owner who was responsible for the accident - and has asked Mr Jukes if legal action is responsible for the delay.

“My concern is that the longer the blockage of the slip road remains, the higher chances of a road accident,” said Councillor Johnston who is concerned at the amount of speeding on this route.

Graham MacKay, head of roads and transportation, said that damage to the bridge was too extensive for a quick repair job and that work on the area was expected to begin in July for a 22 week period.

“The council is in ongoing contact with the loss adjusters working on behalf of the owner of the vehicle which caused the damage, to recover the costs of the emergency measures,” he confirmed.