Tuesday November 18th 2025
Road closures
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
The officer in charge of road maintenance in the Borders has appealed for the public’s patience when his team undertakes major civil engineering works.
Jason Hedley, Scottish Borders Council’s chief officer for roads, said SBc Contracts make every effort to minimise disruption when carrying out road surface repairs.
But he said some disruption was inevitable as “you can’t make an omelette without cracking some eggs”.
At a meeting of SBC’s External Services/Providers Monitoring Group he cited major diversion work at Linburn Bridge on the A701 in Tweeddale late last year as an example of successful work undertaken by his team in less than 72 hours.
He said: “What could have been something which may have been undertaken in a much more lengthy way, by operating under lights and closing one lane down with another one operating, we really tried to expedite the programme.
“It cost us extra in terms of the manpower, in terms of the material and in the support from third parties. However, that cost was actually less than if we’d approached it in the traditional way.
“We have tried for years to avoid undertaking these types of works under a road closure.
“However, the requirements for us to protect our workforce, to operate in a safe environment, have meant that on review and reflection we have changed that.
“So that particular roadwork was undertaken as part of a closure. People within those communities may have had a negative experience as a result of that, and we can only apologise for that, but it’s with a view to protecting this road for ten or 15 years so your everyday usage will be reliable. You can leave your house and get to the location you are going to.
“It’s asking people to be a little bit tolerant when we undertake this work. We think it’s really good work, really good value. That’s not to mention the environmental credentials. Digging up a road to lay a new one has a massive carbon footprint, keeping the one you’ve got in good order is a massive avoidance of carbon.
“We want to undertake these works for the benefit of our communities but it does need some sort of tolerance and acceptance.
“But if people have an issue and you are in an area where there is going to be road closures, just contact the team. If there’s a special delivery, if there’s a requirement for medical support, these sorts of things we’ll always try to accommodate if we can.”
Members were also shown a video on the SBcContracts team at work.
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