Motorists travelling through Falkirk are being told to expect twenty-three weeks of disruption on a stretch of motorway from tonight.
A major project to refurbish the bridge that carries the eastbound M876 over the M9 at Junction 8 Kinnaird Interchange begins later, with speed restrictions and overnight lane closures.
And from Thursday December, 2, there'll be an overnight closure of the bridge.
Transport bosses say that for safety reasons a 50mph speed limit will be in force through M9 at Junction 8 for the duration of the works, from today until the end of April 2022.
One lane in each direction of the M9 at Junction 8 will be closed from 8:30pm until 6am each night during the works.
Two lanes in each direction will remain open on the M9 during daytime hours, however the hard shoulders will be closed 24 hours a day until mid-January, after which lane two in each direction will be closed with traffic running on lane one and the hard shoulder.
The eastbound M876 will be closed on four separate nights during the project, while the bridge deck is jacked up to allow the old bearings to be removed - but diversions will be put in place.
Chris Tracey, BEAR Scotland’s South East Unit Bridges Manager, said: "The bearings and parapet system on the M876 Hill overbridge are nearing the end of their design life.
"It is essential that we replace them now to ensure the long-term safety of the structure.
"Speed restrictions, overnight lane restrictions and hard shoulder closures are essential for safety, however we’ve planned the works to ensure that the M9 has two lanes open in each direction during the day and the westbound M876 will be unaffected.
"It will be necessary to close the eastbound M876 on four separate nights when we jack up the bridge deck to allow the old bearings to be removed.
"The first such closure will take place on the night of Thursday 2 December and we’ll share details of the other three dates once these are confirmed.
"We thank motorists in advance for their patience. We would ask them to plan ahead, allow extra time for their journey and comply with speed limits to protect our workforce."
Live traffic information is available from the Traffic Scotland website and Twitter account.
