| Delays of an up to an hour were reported by commuters trying to enter the city from the west due to reconstruction work on the A90 at Longforgan.
Traffic leaving the city was also hit with major disruption, with official estimates from Bear Scotland putting the delays at up to 20 minutes during the rush hour.
The reconstruction work at Snabbs to Star Farm — which is due to continue for three weeks — saw contraflow lane closures cause major problems for commuters.
One motorist, who was caught up in the chaos as he attempted to enter Dundee from the Perth direction, spoke to the Tele from his car.
He said, “I had just passed Errol when I got to the queue and I have been waiting for an hour and have not yet reached the roadworks.
“I would say that, taking everything into account, you are talking about an hour-long delay.”
Another driver, travelling from Dundee to Perth, said that, although the problem was not as severe in that direction, it was still “horrendous”.
“I took the back roads to work so I avoided the worst of it, but the queues were just unbelievable. It seems especially that those trying to get in to Dundee were having major problems.
“But it was still bad for the traffic trying to get to Perth. It was horrendous.
“It will be just as bad this evening as well, so I will be leaving in plenty of time to get home and will hopefully miss the worst of it.”
The delays also had an impact on Invergowrie as frustrated motorists attempted to avoid the chaos by taking a shortcut through the village.
One Invergowrie resident said it was the worst tailbacks he had seen during his 40 years living in the area.
Tayside Police, who had no involvement in dealing with the traffic, admitted it appeared the village had been used as an alternative route by some motorists.
A spokesperson said, “We have not been involved in dealing with the traffic as this has been done by the contractor.
“Obviously, rush hour is very busy anyway and it has been made extra busy today due to the roadworks.
“Various roads, such as those in Invergowrie, are being used by motorists entering the city. We have made our officers aware, but there is not much we can do, unfortunately.
“But we will monitor the issue throughout the course of the morning.”
Gary Langlands, president of the Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce, said the delays would have an impact on local businesses, whose workforce was caught up in the delays.
He said, “Like most cities, we rely on people commuting into the town for work. Local businesses do rely on traffic management being efficient enough to get people into work on time.
“The fact there have been so many delays this morning will alert people to the fact they will have to leave a little earlier tomorrow.
“But it has come as a shock how prolonged the delays have been today.
“From a business point of view there will be frustration that staff are sitting in traffic when they should be at work and we would ask that the relevant authorities get their act together for the rest of these works.”
The Ł2.2 million upgrade on the two-and-a-half mile stretch of the A90 is being carried out by Tayside Contracts on behalf of Transport Scotland and being supervised by BEAR Scotland.
A BEAR spokesperson said, “Delays have been experienced today. This is not unusual on the first day of major roadworks as drivers become accustomed to the restrictions in place.
“Advance signing has been in place prior to works starting, and signs are currently in place ahead of the works and on strategic parts of the network advising of the roadworks and delays, giving drivers the opportunity to take alternative routes where possible.
“Unfortunately, some delay and disruption is inevitable with essential road maintenance of this nature, but every effort is being made to minimise such delay and also to complete the works, which will extend the lifespan of the carriageway, in as short a time as possible.” |
