Roadworks left motorists in Upper Nithsdale fuming over a 66-mile long diversion.
The weekend closure of the A76 at Enterkinfoot resulted in a long detour for motorists heading north to Sanquhar.
The official diversion, which must use A-class roads, took drivers from Carronbridge to Cumnock via Abington Services and Elvanfoot.
They then needed to head south from Cumnock for Sanquhar and Kirkconnel and Kelloholm.
The road was completely closed by Amey at the weekend which led to angry motorists taking to Facebook to complain.
One, Lois Robertson, said: “Is there no way to put up temporary traffic lights? The diversion is crazy long and to go alternative back roads coming into winter, with massive pot holes, surface water, leaves all over the road, poor visibility and to have no signal I think it’s ridiculous and dangerous.
“Not to mention the majority of people travelling these diversions/backroads are shift workers travelling after a 12-hour shift and key workers travelling home from hospital or other caring roles.
“I don’t think temporary traffic lights is much to ask, considering it’s not just for one week.”
Amey have been working on the A76 at Enterkinfoot since last Tuesday and the project is due to continue until November 26 with overnight closures taking place this week between 7pm and 6am.
Another fed-up motorist, Robert Clements, said: “I really don’t get why they can’t do one lane at a time and use a convoy system. It’s always worked in the past.”
However, Upper Nithsdale councillor Jim Dempster told the Standard it was a case of short-term pain for long-term gain.
He said: “Yes it’s dreadful for the distance but there’s no alternative because Amey aren’t allowed to run diversions on other than A-class roads.
“There’s been unhappy people but most are accepting it’s nearly £750,000 of investment in road maintenance and that must be a good thing.
“I’ve campaigned years for investment up here so I’m not going to complain when work gets done.”
According to Amey the works will improve the condition of almost 2.5 kilometres of the carriageway and reduce the need for more extensive maintenance in the future.
Traffic management will be removed by 6am tomorrow for the remainder of the weekend and overnight closures will resume at 7pm on Monday.
A spokesperson said: “Diversion routes are selected by working closely with partners such as local authorities and Police Scotland to ensure they are suitable for trunk road traffic.
“The deepest areas of work were undertaken over a weekend closure to allow the treatment material to cool fully. The scheme is currently progressing as advertised, with some sections completed ahead of schedule, however all schemes are weather dependent.”
For the latest on maintenance on the A76 go to https://swtrunkroads.scot/roadwork-alerts/.
