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Scottish roadmen warn of exodus
Page 12
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FEARS FROM CIVIL engineers that Scotland could be facing an exodus of key workers with roadbuilding skills have been dismissed by the Scottish Executive.
Concerns have been raised by the Civil Engineering Contractors Association, which wrote to Scottish Transport Minister Nichol Stephen to express its fears that road construction work was about to dry up.
The association is worried that because of a gap between major road-building projects in Scotland, many key workers would migrate south of the border to work on other schemes.
Major projects which have either just ended or are due to end soon include the dualling of the Al, the M77 Fenwick link and the Auchenkilns roundabout improvement scheme.
The next big project, according to some civil engineers in Scotland, is the M74 link running through southern Glasgow — and work on this is not due to start until 2006.
But a transport spokesman at the Scottish Executive argues that there is a "rolling programme of new projects" which should be enough keep the road-building workforce fully employed. These include plans to upgrade five sections of the A77 between Ayr and Stranraer, he adds.
When the work on the M74 does begin in 2006 it will be the biggest road scheme in Scotland for more than a decade.