Town centre road shuts with 50-mile diversion
The six-week closure of a main road through a town in southern Scotland – with an official diversion of 80 kilometres – had led to “absolute chaos”, traders said.
The A76 at Sanquhar was closed for six weeks on Monday Allowing the stonework at the Tolbooth Museum to continue.
Businesses said it was a “mess” as trade had already fallen dramatically and lorries were stranded and had to reverse out of town.
Dumfries and Galloway Council (DGC) said every effort was being made to minimize disruption and signage would be in place throughout the work to confirm shops were open as usual.
The A76 narrows next to the Tolbooth and the council has said it means some businesses will have to close completely [Charles Brown]
The Category A Tolbooth is located next to the A76, the main link road between Dumfries and Galloway and Ayrshire.
The municipality stated that the road next to the building became narrower, meaning that some works were completely closed.
Traffic was managed with temporary lights for two weeks, but the full closure, which began on Monday, is expected to last until July 10.
Local access will be maintained throughout, but official guidance on HGV-friendly routes takes southbound traffic from Cumnock on the A70 and vice versa for northbound vehicles to Thornhill or northbound on the B7078 and A702.
merchants He told BBC Scotland News before work began that it would “kill the town”.
Gareth Polland, operator of The Store, said the situation was as bad as they feared and the impact was “terrible”.
“The community – both the public and business owners – highlighted many of the concerns that were passionately voiced just before this work began,” he said.
“First of all, for us there is no longer parking outside our business, which means foot traffic and commerce is completely reduced.
“Secondly, just yesterday (Monday), three heavy goods trucks stopped in Sanquhar were unable to turn around and had to return to the street.”
The purpose of the 50-mile diversion is to remove heavy vehicles from the city [Charles Brown]
He said the council’s “border aggression” was not credible and the work should be done at traffic lights in the evening.
“This is causing complete chaos, fewer visitors to the town, reduced through trade in terms of commuters and it’s only day one – we’ve got six weeks for this,” he said.
“It really feels like the council – they don’t care, they really don’t care and there’s no accountability.
“It doesn’t matter how businesses or individual lives are affected, the council gets its money regardless and continues to do what it does no matter what.”
Charles Brown outside the newsstand near the Tolbooth Museum before work began [BBC]
He said this was particularly difficult as it would cover the World Cup period, when there was an opportunity to increase turnover.
“People don’t go out because it’s a mess,” he said.
Charles Brown, who managed local newsagents, echoed this view.
“The street has been very quiet for the last two days, we have witnessed a few fights on the road between drivers jumping the lights,” he said.
“My earnings have dropped by around £200 in the last two days, and the local petrol station’s earnings have also dropped by 30%, so not good at all.”
DGC founded A dedicated web page with information about the studies.
He said he understood traders’ concerns and recognized the importance of the A76, but said the work at the Tolbooth was necessary to address “significant stonework defects”.
The council added that the project has been carefully planned to minimize disruption and local access will be maintained throughout the work.
He said it would be completed “well in advance” of major local events later in the summer.
