A community has been reassured over the safety of crossing the crash-damaged Glencarse flyover after small chunks of concrete fell from the structure.
Carse of Gowrie councillor Angus Forbes highlighted the flurry of crumbling debris earlier this week, revealing they dropped onto the closed southbound lane of the A90 stretch.
A picture taken by Cllr Forbes shows one piece of the failed concrete, with the Conservative representative using his glasses as a size reference point.
The pass connecting St Madoes and Glencarse suffered “extensive damage” last Tuesday after it was struck by a digger for the second time in four years.
The digger, and a dumper, then fell off the flat bed truck and slammed onto the southbound carriageway, grinding the A90 to a halt for several hours.
The bridge and the A90 section it traverses are now reduced to single lane traffic light systems for the foreseeable future in a blow to local residents.
Following inspections, the steel load bearing element was “badly deformed” and the concrete deck slab above sustained significant damage.
The bridge was damaged in October 2019, also by a digger carried by a lorry, and was only fully reopened to traffic 13 months later.
Amey, which operates the road on behalf of Transport Scotland (TS), say repairs could take the same length of time to complete.
The transport minister moved to reassure residents.
On Wednesday he commented: “As regards to any concrete debris falling from the overbridge, it should be noted that the A90 Lane 1 southbound is still closed to traffic at this location.
“Amey is conducting regular visits to monitor the situation and will be visiting the site again later today.
“On the structural integrity of the bridge, although one beam of six has been damaged, the partial restrictions over the structure means that the bridge remains safe for use until the repairs are undertaken.”
Conservative representative Forbes is also hoping to bring the local village communities and the transport minister together to discuss plans to protect the bridge from future collisions.
Mr Forbes sent the proposal to Kevin Stewart MSP in a letter, having also launched a petition urging Transport Scotland to raise the A90 Glencarse overbridge.
In an excerpt from Cllr Forbes letter to Mr Stewart, it reads: “Amey have advised me that the repair project could last as long as the previous one which is completely unacceptable.
“These communities can’t afford to be divided like that again.
“Whilst the engineers at Amey decide on the best course of action, we must look at why this is happening.
“The bridge is not regarded as a low bridge but in three years, two lorries that have successfully passed under other bridges on their journey have managed to damage this one.
“I would welcome the opportunity to meet and discuss this matter with you, specifically what the Scottish Government can do to prevent this happening again, either by raising the bridge, lowering the road or a combination of both.”
It concludes: “I invite you to a public meeting in St Madoes sometime during April or May to meet members of the community affected by this matter.
“Once we have the date set, I would plan to invite representatives of Amey, Perth and Kinross Council and Police Scotland.
“I look forward to hearing your willingness to attend such an event and then we can look at a mutually suitable time and date.”
Fellow Carse of Gowrie ward Councillor Alasdair Bailey has been updating residents regularly on the repairs and is also pursuing details for long-term plans to preserve the bridge.
In response to the petition, Mr Stewart said: “I thank Cllr Forbes for his letter and will respond fully when I have received advice from my officials at Transport Scotland and our operating company Amey.
“However it is important to note the bridge involved in the incident is already above the legal minimum height of 5.03 metres.
“I appreciate the effects of this disruption on the local community.
“Development of the permanent repair is progressing and will be delivered as quickly as is possible.”
The petition can be found at https://tinyurl.com/55nck6hv
