Railway line reopens and work continues to open road after Storm …
Commuters in the north of Scotland are getting back on the move after a weekend of torrential rain as Storm Babet hit.
The A90 is scheduled to reopen to traffic travelling northbound as far as Forfar and southbound as far as Brechin by morning peak on Monday October 23.
ScotRail also said that the Aberdeen – Elgin line has reopened and the Dundee – Aberdeen line is expected to open on Monday morning.
It came after Network Rail engineers managed to clear away the mud, silt, and a large tree that was found near Dyce on the line.
Amey North East Trunk Roads said work continues to allow the A90 to fully reopen to traffic between Dundee and Stonehaven following the severe impact of Storm Babet across the trunk road over a number of days in an update on Sunday night.
The A90 was faced with a series of severe weather warnings and exceptional rainfall due to Storm Babet – including two very rare red warnings for rain for Angus and Aberdeenshire, and three days of ‘Avoid Travel’ advice from Police Scotland.
Due to the extremely high rainfall totals and increasing river flows in Angus and Aberdeenshire, SEPA issued a flood warning for these areas and a decision was taken to close the route for the safety of the travelling public.
The majority of investigations on structures on the A90 have now been completed.
Two high risk structures near Finavon are still outstanding as the water level and flow rate at this location are still too severe to allow any work to take place.
The current speed and water levels are too high to allow divers to safely undertake investigations to assess the integrity of the structure.
As a result the A90 will remain closed between Dundee and Stonehaven for the remainder of Sunday and local access has been retained.
Amey is working to open the A90 travelling northbound as far as Forfar and southbound as far as Brechin for the early morning commute on Monday. With a Met Office Yellow Warning for ice in place overnight, these roads will be gritted in advance.
There will be no signed diversion route in place between Forfar and Brechin due to the ongoing pressures on the road network in the area caused by the impact of Storm Babet.
Almost all routes are open tomorrow (23 Oct), and normal service will resume but some early morning services from Fife will be disrupted.
The first passenger services in Fife will be:• 0619 Perth – Edinburgh via Kirkcaldy• 0658 Glenrothes – Edinburgh via Cowdenbeath.ℹ️👇 pic.twitter.com/mGfSAuvGY5[1]
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) October 22, 2023[2]
Amey’s teams will be on site on Monday morning to evaluate the water conditions where the A90 remains closed at Finavon and look to undertake the relevant investigations if it is safe to do so.
Operating company representative for the North East NMC, Tom Wallace, said: “To ensure the safety of all road users, our engineers have been working hard to complete structural inspections across the A90 and fully reopen the route between Dundee and Stonehaven.
“Any inspections must be carried out in a safe environment that does not put our teams at risk. 17 structures have been assessed and two remain. At this moment the river levels are still too high and too fast for work to be undertaken at those last remaining locations but we are hopeful that we will be able to undertake investigations tomorrow morning.
“The extreme weather event means that local roads remain impacted. We will shortly be able to reopen the A90 northbound as far as Forfar and southbound as far as Brechin – but we are unable identify a suitable diversion between the closed areas due to the impacts of the floods on local roads.
“I would ask people to plan ahead when considering their journey. We would like to thank all road users and the local community for their patience in advance – and we will provide an update as soon as we can tomorrow.”
A ScotRail spokesperson said: ”The Aberdeen – Elgin line has just reopened, and we expect the Dundee – Aberdeen line to be reopened for the start of service tomorrow, but please check the app for the latest service information.
“After several days of extreme rainfall and high winds, almost all routes are open, and normal service will resume, but Network Rail advise that some early morning trains in Fife will be disrupted.”
References
- ^ pic.twitter.com/mGfSAuvGY5 (t.co)
- ^ October 22, 2023 (twitter.com)