Road works causing misery for drivers on Scotland’s busiest stretch of road could drag on indefinitely after transport bosses admitted it was “not possible” to give a firm date for their completion.
Temporary repairs to prop-up the crumbling Woodside viaducts on the M8 through Glasgow city centre have already dragged on for more than five years, at a cost to the taxpayer of £125m.
The motorway between Charing Cross and Cowcaddens sees frequent tailbacks due to long-term lane and junction closures as workers attempt to stabilise the concrete structures, which are more than 50 years old.
One Glasgow MSP today warned the scheme has become “a colossal financial drain on the public finances” and branded the viaducts an “obsolete 1970s eyesore”.
Transport Scotland last year announced it hoped the works would be finished by “the second half of 2027” but ministers have now refused to guarantee the date will be met.
In a Freedom of Information release published this week, the Scottish Government was asked for a firm date for when the delayed repairs programme would finally be finished.
In its response, the Government said: “It’s not possible to give a precise date as there are many factors influencing completion of a complex construction project.
“The activities required for completion are programmed with anticipated durations for each activity.”
The repairs were originally scheduled to finish in 2023 at a cost of £34m. The Government now estimates the final bill be “within a range of £126 – £152 million”.
The future of the Woodside viaducts is controversial as the repairs are only a temporary fix – with a long-term solution for the site still undecided.
Paul Sweeney, a Labour MSP for Glasgow, said: “The ongoing saga of the M8 Woodside viaduct repairs has become Glasgow’s most costly infrastructure project and a colossal financial drain on the public finances.
“What started as temporary propping works has spiraled due to the complexity of straddling major utilities and the Subway tunnels, with costs escalating to upwards of £152 million and the completion date delayed until the second half of 2027. Pouring hundreds of millions of pounds into patching up this obsolete 1970s eyesore is a deeply flawed strategy.
View 3 ImagesPaul Sweeney
“However, it also presents us with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to correct one of the worst urban planning decisions in our city’s history and reshape Glasgow’s cityscape for the better.
“While completely removing the trunk road route through central Glasgow is very difficult to achieve, I support a compromise option: replacing these two overengineered and ugly viaducts with a more compact and modern surface-level urban boulevard.
“We can look to successful precedents in San Francisco and New York, where elevated highways have been torn down and replaced with boulevards that reconnected blighted inner city communities.
“The reality is that a large share of the traffic on the M8 bypasses Glasgow city centre entirely. We could redirect many of these journeys from the M8, M80 and M77 around the M73 and M74 with new slip roads, reducing unnecessary traffic flow through the heart of Glasgow.”
Councillor John Daly, who represents the Baillieston ward, said: “These revelations are further damning evidence of the SNP’s incompetence and economic mismanagement when it comes to major transport projects.
“Glaswegians and motorists are scunnered with how long these works are taking yet the SNP don’t even have basic facts to hand.
“Stephen Flynn as the new transport secretary needs to get a grip of this situation urgently and confirm how much more taxpayers’ money will be spent and if and when they will finally be completed.”
View 3 ImagesThe M8 motorway slashes through Glasgow city centre
Glasgow City Council previously announced it favoured long-term plans to demolish the viaducts, recognising how the M8 “detrimentally impacted the urban fabric of our communities”.
Transport Scotland will ultimately decide whether to continue repairing the viaducts, replace them, or remove them entirely.
A spokesman for Transport Scotland said: “The date for completing the temporary propping to the Woodside viaducts and removing traffic management from the eastbound carriageway is scheduled for Autumn 2026, with the westbound carriageway scheduled for the second half of 2027.
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“Once complete, the stretch of motorway at Woodside will return to four lanes of traffic in both directions.
“Due to the limited lifespan of the temporary props they are not an effective long term solution. Work is currently underway to determine a permanent solution, with timescales and costs to be determined at a later stage.”