We may still be two years away from the first trams carrying passengers on the new
Edinburgh tramway but progress is continuing to be made on the construction of the line with Princes Street west of Waverley Bridge now reopened to traffic following the completion of work there. At the same time as announcing that Princes Street is to reopen to traffic the City of Edinburgh Council gave notice of their intention to commence works on York Place which will once again necessitate further road closures and traffic diversions.
The section of Princes Street west of Waverley Bridge has been reopened to buses, cycles and taxis and at the same time The Mound was reopened to general traffic which it is hoped will be a huge boost to the City Centre for the summer.
Cllr Lesley Hinds, the new Transport Convener, said: “The new Administration is determined to make sure that the project will continue to move forward, in a spirit of cooperation, with all the parties working together. Edinburgh tram works are being managed to a clearly defined programme with this work scheduled to start now in order to deliver the project by the summer of 2014. Meanwhile the re-opening of Princes Street, west of Waverley Bridge will come as a welcome boost to business at what remains a challenging period for traders.”
The next stage of works in the City Centre will initially commence on 14th July on York Place once Broughton Street has been reopened (this has been closed since 16th June to enable telecommunications ducting to be installed. As these works progress it is planned that York Place will be able to be closed to all traffic between North St Andrew Street and Broughton Street. This will only be able to happen when a single lane can be accommodated on Princes Street at the junction of Waverley and South St Andrew Street for limited bus services. Although no definite date has yet been announced as to when this will be it is currently anticipated to be around late September. When York Place does close fully the bus station will have to be temporarily relocated. All work on York Place is due to be completed by quarter four in 2013.
Sue Bruce, Chief Executive of City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Throughout the tram works, people have adapted quickly to the new traffic systems and bus diversions once they have had the chance to bed-in. This is a significant work package in the programme and its implementation is in itself a clear indication of continuing meaningful progress. The Bus Station will be required to be temporarily re-located later in the year. This will happen following the conclusion of detailed discussions with bus operators and Bus Station Management. We have managed a similar relocation before and are confident this
process will be a relatively smooth transition. We appreciate the continued support of the public as work gets underway on this latest phase of the project.”
Elsewhere on the project the mini test track adjacent to Gogar Depot was formally handed over to the Council on 16th May. This presumably means further testing may be taking place on this short section of track in the future although there has been no confirmation to this. Most other progress on building the tramway has been preparatory or utility diversion work but the section of the route at Carrick Knowe Golf Course has recently seen track sleeper installation.