Chamber and committees

Please see the following table which provides the costs of maintaining the 2297 streetlights on the A90.

There are seven emergency telephones installed on the A90 north of Dundee and two on other sections of the A90.

Transport Scotland has developed an Approach to Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience (ACCAR), which provides a strategic overview of our approach primarily on infrastructure and services directly under Transport Scotland control. A key deliverable of this work is the development of a Trunk Road Adaptation Plan, based on a climate vulnerability and risk assessment using the latest UK climate projections. The Trunk Road Adaptation Plan will be published in 2025. It includes key interventions and recommendations for further adapting the Trunk Road Network. There will be a focus on risks associated with increased surface water flooding, river flooding, river scour and landslides.

The Trunk Road Adaptation Plan will complement the work of our roads Vulnerable Locations Operational Group (VLOG), which was established in 2021 in line with the commitments set out in the National Transport Strategy Delivery Plan 2020 – 2022 with an initial focus on delivering short-term cost-effective actions, whilst developing a move to a long-term proactive approach, including a dedicated budget for climate change adaptation.

The VLOG has targeted resource on early flood level warning systems around A90 river crossings and undertaken specific bridge scour assessments and inspections to national standards to enable resources to be focused on potential future risk areas

In the past five years 51 calls have been received on the emergency telephones on the A90 north of Dundee.

The current estimated costs are £716,432.40. However, this may increase as the investigation and design for the permanent works progresses.

Construction is anticipated to be complete by the end of September 2025. However, investigations and permanent works design are still ongoing. Ecological factors at the site will also severely affect the available construction window

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-33160 on 22 January 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

2296 of the 2297 streetlights on the A90 are fitted with LED bulbs.

The emergency telephones on the A90 are maintained under a term contract managed by Transport Scotland whereby a monthly unitary payment is made, for the maintenance and repair of, Scotland wide, ITS (Intelligent Transport System) roadside assets such as the A90 emergency telephones.

In the summer of 2024, on behalf of Transport Scotland, the Traffic Scotland Service Operator (Mobiie) conducted an Operational Requirement review of Emergency Roadside Telephones (ERT’s) resulting in the recommendation that the ERT’s remain in operation as a service to the public.

Scottish Ministers have a duty of care to ensure its structures are safe for public use. Our maintenance, strengthening and replacement programmes ensure that all structures and their elements are routinely inspected to determine they are fit for use as well as to implement measures to mitigate any impact to the network.

The prioritisation of bridges and structures maintenance follows a Value Management Risk Approach using the following four criteria:

1.Safety – the overall effects on the end user, including fatalities and injuries that would be caused by a failure.

2.Functionality – the impact of a loss or reduction in service. This may be considered at route, structure or component level.

3.Environment – Environmental impacts, such as pollution caused through traffic delay, the sensitivity of the route/area, etc.

4.Sustainability – of both expenditure and workload, where the aim is to reach a state of steady expenditure and workload, avoiding the build-up of a backlog of unavoidable, essential work by doing effective, targeted preventative maintenance.

Our Operating Companies develop a 1 and 3 year programmes of bridge maintenance works, which are reviewed by Transport Scotland. Maintenance works are programmed based on priority . Structural Reviews are also carried out in accordance with the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges standard CS 451, which determines the requirement for any structure assessment, and these are included in the 1 and 3 year programmes.

Safety concerns are recorded as defects and addressed in accordance with contractual requirements and timescales.

Safety defects and remedial actions on the A90 over the last five years are detailed below:

• A90 840 Portlethan Overbridge – Damaged parapet mesh. Parapet mesh was replaced.
• A90 630 Stracathro Overbridge - Damage to Vehicle Restraint System (VRS) post. VRS post replaced.
• A90 310 Kings Cross West Overbridge – Plugged drain. Drain cleared.