M8 M73 M74 Improvements Project: EIR release

FOI reference: FOI/18/02383
Date received: 5 September 2018  
Date responded: 2 October 2018

 

We act on behalf of a client of Accident Exchange to recover uninsured losses arising out of a road traffic accident on 19 January 2016 when she was joining the M73 southbound from the M8 at Ballieston. She was driving in the offside lane of the slip road and suffered a collision with a lorry driving in the nearside lane of the M73 at approximately the point where the roads merged
• Please confirm whether and when the road markings changed to introduce chevrons between the two lanes of the slip road with traffic in the right-hand lane joining the M8 first and having to cross broken white give way markings to do so.
• Please confirm that prior to that date traffic traffic on the slip road merged into a single lane becoming the left-hand lane of three on the M73 southbound without any need to give way to traffic on the motorway.

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.
This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

For clarity, I have provided your response to each of your two points underneath your original request.
Please confirm whether and when the road markings changed to introduce chevrons between the two lanes of the slip road with traffic in the right-hand lane joining the M8 first and having to cross broken white give way markings to do so.
As part of the M8, M73, M74 Motorway Improvements project, the M8 eastbound link road to the M73 southbound carriageway, was upgraded to a two lane merge layout. Traffic in the offside lane of the link must give way to M73 traffic when merging. This is indicated with broken white lines on the road surface. The nearside lane uses a ‘lane gain’ system to merge with the M73, with chevons separating the two M8 eastbound merge lanes.
This new layout was designed and constructed in accordance with relevant standards outlined within the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges and was opened to traffic on 1 June 2017.
The photo A1 in Annex A shows what is now in permanent place. Prior to this permanent arrangement a temporary traffic management was put in place in July 2015 which installed a double offside lane closure on the M73 north and southbound carriageways.

Please confirm that prior to that date traffic traffic on the slip road merged into a single lane becoming the left-hand lane of three on the M73 southbound without any need to give way to traffic on the motorway.
Scottish Roads Partnership, the contractor for the works has confirmed that prior to the 1 June 2017, during the construction phase of the motorway upgrade, traffic travelling on the M8 link to join the M73 southbound used a single ‘lane gain’ system. This system merged traffic from the M8 link road and the M73 traffic via the link road, which formed lane 1 (the left lane) of the M73. No give way system was in place for traffic utilising the lane gain.
Traffic on the M73 southbound carriageway was guided to run over onto the chevron marked section of the road. To separate traffic at the merge a temporary traffic management scheme was implemented where a coned section of the road replicated a chevron area.
The photo A2 in Annex A shows the temporary traffic management arrangement in place on 19 January 2016.
All temporary traffic management schemes implemented for this project have been designed and coordinated with input from consultees including Police Scotland and relative local roads authorities. SRP confirm that the temporary traffic management was installed in accordance with Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual which is the accepted standard for roadworks.