The City of Edinburgh Council have announced that the recent spell of poor weather has meant that there have been delays to the tram construction work at St Andrew Square – but that this will not affect the overall schedule of the project. Concrete and joint sealing work was due to take place in March but snow and sub-zero temperatures have delayed this until April, obviously providing that the cold weather finally comes to an end.
Cllr Lesley Hinds, Transport Convener at the Council, said: “We have always been mindful of the impact that poor weather can have on the construction of the tram line and we have contingency plans in place to absorb delays. Some elements of work, such as Tarmac laying, cannot take place when temperatures fall below a certain point and as a result we have had to postpone some of our planned work on St Andrew Square. However, I am confident that this will not affect the overall schedule of the tram project and we remain on track to deliver Edinburgh trams by summer 2014, in line with the revised budget and schedule. I’d like to thank local business owners and residents in the area for their continued patience while we carry out this work.”
* Lesley Hinds has also been responding to comments written on a blog criticising the tram project, including people dreading the introduction of trams and cyclists who apparently can’t cycle round roads which have tram tracks on them. You can read her response at http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/blog/newsblog/post/564/councillor-lesley-hinds-clarifies-tram-facts