Around 35% of the M8 between Glasgow and Edinburgh is at the end of its residual life, according to a new report by Amey.
The document revealed just 12% of the motorway is in sufficient condition to be left alone for 20 years or more, with the worst section on the eight-mile stretch between the Harthill service station and junction 6, where more than half of the road is at the end of its residual life.
In addition, 21 bridges are listed for repair at a total estimated cost of £602,000, with the Livingston Road Bridge at junction 3 likely to cost £130,000 to repair.
The report warns that Transport Scotland would need to allocate extra funds to repair the M8 because the cost of improving it would drain cash from other areas of its annual budget. ‘There is limited resource for investments in trunk roads within Transport Scotland. If funding was taken from the overall road allocation, then this would have an effect on the entire network,’ it says, before recommending that the M8 be treated as a ‘special case’.
A spokesperson for Transport Scotland said: ‘We have identified sections between junctions one and six that will soon require reconstruction and, from 2005 until 2007, we will have spent £6.2M on this section.’
He added that the condition of the road was still ‘completely acceptable and safe to use,’ and that zero years of residual life did not mean the road was at the end of its useful life – rather its life was indeterminate and therefore, needed to have its condition monitored. The study focused only on the M8 Edinburgh to Glasgow stretch up to junction 6.