500 New Jobs Created By Transport Scotland

Transport agency Transport Scotland has helped to create more than 500 construction jobs after it handed a £320million pound contract to Highway Management to convert to motorway an 18km section of the A80, Scotland's busiest north-south route.

Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson said, "The Scottish Government is absolutely clear that an efficient transport system is essential for enhancing productivity and delivering faster, more sustainable growth...This project is another example of how our continuing investment is helping the hard pressed construction sector now, creating hundreds of construction jobs.

He added"The A80 is an essential part of the trunk road network in central Scotland and one of the most heavily used. This project will complete the missing gap between Stirling and Glasgow bringing real benefits to the surrounding communities and across the central belt as a whole."

Construction works for this particular scheme will include:

• almost 5 miles (8 km) of new dual two-lane motorway and hard shoulders between Stepps and Mollinsburn
• 1.6 miles (2.7 km) of the existing A80 road upgraded to dual three-lane motorway between Mollinsburn and Auchenkilns; and
• almost 4.5 miles ( 7.3km) of the existing A80 upgraded to dual two-lane motorway between Auchenkilns to Haggs with hard shoulders and climbing lanes.

Martin Pugh, Managing Director, Bilfinger Berger Project Investments said, "Tremendous effort has been demonstrated by all those involved to achieve financial close in challenging times and this is something we can all be proud of. I would like to thank the team for their tenacity and hard work. We are looking forward to working further with Transport Scotland in the coming years."