More chaos as major Princes Street tram works to begin

THE first major tram works on Princes Street will get under way next Wednesday, with bus passengers facing diversions.

Work to move the utilities under The Mound junction will see traffic banned along Princes Street between Frederick Street and Hanover Street.

Services which pass through the busy junction will be either diverted via George Street or Market Street and Waverley Bridge.

Buses will still serve Hanover Street but general traffic will be banned. Full pedestrian access will be maintained during the project, which is expected to last until April next year.

The latest work comes two months before the whole of Princes Street is due to close to traffic for six months to accommodate further tram works.

Drivers today warned the diversions will create gridlock in the city centre. Raymond Davidson, secretary of the Edinburgh Taxi Association, said: "This will have a massive impact.

"The roads where the diversions are going are already nose-to-tail at rush hour so it will only get worse when you add in all those buses and taxis.

"Passengers will be facing big delays if it doesn't work well because it is a major junction and there is so much traffic which goes through it.

"The disruption caused by this tram project is unbelievable and I think it is only now that we are beginning to see the full extent of it."

The first few days of the diversions might be made further problematic by the fact it is still not clear when Johnston Terrace will reopen following a recent rock fall from Edinburgh Castle.

City council officials are not able to confirm exactly when the road will reopen, but they have said it is likely to be the middle of next week.

Bill Campbell, Lothian Buses operations director said: "This is a major diversion. Some disruption to passengers travelling into the city centre is inevitable.

"However, we are working closely with TIE and the city council in order to ensure as best we can that disruption is kept to a minimum."

Preparations for the works at The Mound junction have been ongoing for the last few weeks.

A spokesman for TIE said full details of the project would be announced later.

He added: "The work in Princes Street is a crucial phase in the Edinburgh tram project."