A80 upgrade call after road chaos

The accident caused gridlock on the roads across the Forth Valley

The traffic chaos caused by a lorry which shed its load of nearly 2,000 chickens on the A80 has led to calls for a transport rethink.

Major roads across central Scotland were brought to a standstill on Thursday after the incident resulted in the road's closure for nine hours.

The stretch of road is among the busiest in Scotland carrying thousands of vehicles each day.

The A80 serves as a main route to Glasgow, Stirling, Perth and Dundee.

In the hours after the crash, Ch Insp Donald McMillan, who was coordinating the clear-up operation, said the incident highlighted the knock on effects of an accident on the route.

Improve the route

He said: "I do know that there is considerable negotiations ongoing to get the finances to upgrade the A80.

"But that's along with a myriad of road issues that are ongoing in road policing, for example the A9 - should it be dual carriageway or motorway?"

In July 2006, the then Labour Scottish Executive put forward plans to spend £140m on improving the trunk road from Stepps to Haggs.

It is incredible to think that an incident like this, involving one lorry, can bring Central Scotland to a standstill Terry Donegan commuter

The upgrade was to include a 1.6-mile three-lane section between the M73 and Auchenkilns.

Construction was due to start next year and be completed by 2011.

A spokeswoman for Transport Scotland said plans were still under way to improve the route.

She said: "The tendering process to deliver the A80 upgrade works to motorway standard commenced in March 2007.

"Negotiations between Transport Scotland and consortia bidding for the contract to deliver these improvements will be concluded early next year and construction is expected to start during the summer of 2008, with completion planned for 2011.

"The completed project will benefit drivers by improving road safety, alleviating congestion and delays and improving journey times."

Journey times

Neil Greig, director of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said the proposed upgrade would not solve the problem.

He said: "We are going to get a new M80 but the difficulty is that is it just improving what we have.

"When incidents occur, there will still be no alternative route for commuters.

"The problem we have is that most of Scotland's main roads are at capacity during rush hours.

"We do not have many decent diversion routes in place."

Motorists are calling on the Scottish Government to improve the route

The proposed upgrade to the A80 cannot come quickly enough for many drivers.

Terry Donegan, 51, managing director of a software company who has travelled the route every day for six years, said urgent action was needed.

He said: "It is incredible to think that an incident like this, involving one lorry, can bring central Scotland to a standstill.

"This is a main arterial route. It is ridiculous that this can happen and there is no alternative in place.

"Nearly every road into Glasgow from Falkirk was blocked. I could only get to work by driving via Loch Lomond."

Mark Bryars, 26, from Glasgow, also travels the route to get to work in Stirling.

On Thursday he was advised to work from home by his bosses to avoid the gridlock.

He said: "It seems like everyday there is an accident or road works or something to slow the traffic down.

"It would suit me fantastically if they would improve the road to take out stretches where it goes through 30mph residential areas."