LOCALS have slammed Scottish Water for the “fiasco” at Cameron Toll roundabout after it announced its latest works would take three days longer than originally planned.
The major roundabout, which only recently fully reopened following 12 weeks of gas works, was partly closed between Lady Road and Dalkeith Road on Wednesday.
A void had been discovered underground, which could have led to the collapse of the carriageway.
The emergency repairs were due to be completed yesterday, but due to the additional discovery of a damaged sewer pipe, this has been pushed back to Thursday.
Lothian Buses have continued to divert their services away from the area until further notice.
Local motorists have again continued to be vocal about the situation on social media, particularly as the roundabout has faced various closures for much of this year.
However, some were grateful that the city council had opened the Prestonfield bus gate to the public to allow traffic to flow more effectively.
Scottish Water’s fresh statement, issued yesterday, read: “We are carrying out emergency repair work at Cameron Toll in Edinburgh after a large void was discovered under the carriageway which could have caused a collapse of the road above.
“The section of the roundabout between Lady Road and Dalkeith Road remains closed with eastbound traffic being diverted along the A701 Craigmillar Park to East Preston Street and onto Dalkeith Road.
“We are aware of delays for people leaving the shopping centre and we have taken steps to ease the situation. We would also ask road users to drive responsibly and courteously.
The work has not been straightforward given the presence of a recently installed gas main and the need to cut out and replace six metres of sewer pipe.
“A further defect was discovered approximately 40m further upstream and has been repaired with an emergency patch repair.
“We are now in the process of backfilling the excavations before beginning the reinstatement of the road and carriageway itself.
“We anticipate the road being reopened on Thursday 5 December.
“We are sorry the work is taking longer than initially anticipated but unfortunately emergency unplanned works are often challenging.
“We also appreciate the additional noise generated by the works, particularly at night-time, and we can only apologise.
“Every resource possible is being made available to complete the repairs quickly and we can only thank all those affected for their patience and understanding.”
It was again shared to social media by local MP and Secretary of State for Scotland Ian Murray, who many residents thanked for keeping them informed.
His post has received over 60 comments from people sharing their reactions.
One wrote: “It’s been essentially closed six months of the year. When are people going to be sacked for this continuing fiasco?”
Another commented: “We are just God awful at fixing anything to do with roads. Under the roads, the surface of the roads. Just poor workmanship and cutting corners.”
A third said: “Might as well not live in Edinburgh anymore with the size of the detours required now to not sit in traffic for an hour.”
Another joked: “So three guesses how long the emergency patch repair lasts?”
A fifth added: “What’s the odds on something else going wrong after this had been repaired? Bus hitting bridge, bridge collapsing.”
