Tram chiefs line up work to lay first tracks within weeks

Published on Thursday 18 September 2008 10:11

THE first tram tracks on the Capital's streets for more than 50 years will be in place by January, transport chiefs revealed today.

Preparation work will get under way within weeks and will see Leith Walk significantly widened to allow the track to be laid down the middle of the road.

This will mean pavements will be narrowed but traders today said they were "cautiously optimistic" that the track laying phase of the project would run smoothly.

Tram firm TIE today said it hoped the next phase of the project will be better received by people because they will actually see something getting built.

Willie Gallagher, executive chairman of TIE, said: "Building the track and overhead wires is clearly an important phase for us.

"It will be different from what people have seen so far with the utilities work. The big difference is that people will see something being built and for a lot of people it will be the first time they realise that this thing is actually happening now.

"The work will mainly be in the middle of the road, away from the pavement, so hopefully it will be less intrusive as well."

The first phase will be at the bottom of Leith Walk – between Kirk Street and Stead's Place – and will involve narrowing pavements, removing lampposts and putting in temporary lighting, as well as building up a new road surface.

Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction as part of the work.

Track work is also expected to get under way on the guided busway in Saughton in the early part of next year, though it is not clear at this stage whether the very first section of track will be laid here or on Leith Walk.

Unlike the ongoing project to divert utilities, work to build the track will be concentrated in the middle of the road, taking up roughly two lanes, and will be in sections of between 100 metres to 300 metres.

The work had been scheduled to start in August but was delayed because TIE officials were exploring whether they could close entire sections of Leith Walk in order to speed up the work.

This has now been ruled out and the phased work gets under way on October 2.

TIE will be opening a tram office in the old bus depot off Leith Walk ahead of the work starting, as well as introducing logistics teams, similar to those deployed during the Shandwick Place closure earlier this year, to help local shops with deliveries.

Despite being narrowed, every pavement on Leith Walk will be a minimum of two metres wide.

Gordon Burgess, of the traders association for Leith Walk and Constitution Street, today said he was "cautiously optimistic" that this phase will run smoothly.

He said: "The last year or so has obviously been chaos for everyone down here, but the impression I get is that this will involve a lot less intrusion than the utility work and will move at a faster pace.

"TIE have been down here and we have been given reassurances that they have learned the lessons of the first phase and been promised a good few number of improvements.

"If they deliver on this then I think everyone will notice a big difference."

Leith Walk faces 13 months of work

WORK to lay the tram tracks on Leith Walk will take place over the next 13 months.

Preparation work for the bottom of Leith Walk starts on October 2. Work between Kirk Street and Stead's Place will take around six weeks.

Contractors will then move on to the east side of the same section of road and that will be finished by December.

Manderston Street will be closed temporarily and the one-way scheme for Jane Street and Casselbank will continue.