Sheriffhall one of 'scariest' junctions in UK

The congestion hotspot on the city bypass is close to bursting point as it struggles to handle a growing number of vehicles.

And now the roundabout - which has six exits leading to main roads in, out or around Edinburgh - has been ranked Scotland's second most daunting junction in a new survey for the Highway Insurance company.

The Hanger Lane gyratory system in west London was named scariest, and the M8 junctions in Glasgow the worst in Scotland.

A feasibility study into improvements at Sheriffhall - including the possibility of a flyover - will be made public next summer.

Councillor Russell Imrie, Midlothian Council's strategic services spokesman, said: "The Scottish Government's own research clearly shows that the bypass has one of the fastest growing levels of traffic in Scotland. This has an obvious knock-on effect at Sheriffhall, where there is a clear and accepted need for the junction to be upgraded, and we are going to continue to push the Government on this as hard as we can to improve the situation there."

The A720 is already one of the fastest growing roads for traffic in Scotland, and last year carried up to 62,895 vehicles every day - compared to 52,999 in 2000.

Bruce Young, Lothian and Borders co-ordinator of the Association of British Drivers, said: "I would say aggravating would be more appropriate than scary. For such a small and complicated roundabout on a major road network, it really is a pig and something needs to be done about it."

The number of vehicles using Sheriffhall every day is expected to grow when the nearby Dalkeith bypass is completed next year.

The delays are likely to be further compounded when the 100 million Shawfair project to build thousands of new homes at neighbouring Millerhill gets under way in the next few years.

A 1.9m Sheriffhall park-and-ride, on the A7 Old Dalkeith Road, is being built with 510 spaces and is seen as crucial for the thousands of new homes planned nearby.

The survey also revealed that more women are apprehensive about negotiating junctions than male drivers.

Asked if they avoided particular junctions regularly, 17 per cent of female motorists said yes, compared with nine per cent of male drivers.

Highway Insurance managing director Chris Hill said: "I have driven around Hanger Lane many times and understand completely why people find it so daunting.

"Anxiety has a significant impact on drivers' behaviour so it's interesting to see how motorists react to these major junctions.

"I suspect that, for many people, the thought of these junctions is actually worse than the reality."