Gantry refurbishment work is to begin this week on the M8 Motorway.

Scotland TranServ will begin renewing and improving a series of structures along the route from Thursday, 14 June.

Work will include removing, stripping down, repairing and repainting before installed new energy efficient LED lighting on the structures.

Removal of the gantries and their return to site will take place overnight on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Gordon Gibney, Scotland TranServ's Operations Delivery Manager, said: “The programme involves the movement of very large plant and the lifting of heavy structures on Scotland's busiest motorway. Working at nights over a number of weekends, we will remove a number of these 20-tonne structures, carefully transporting them to our fabrication contractor in Renfrew.”


Richard Henderson, from contractor Merson Group, added: “These gantry structures will be stripped back to expose the corroded elements. We will then restore and repaint them before installing modern LED back lighting that is 60% more energy efficient than its predecessor. The refurbished gantries will then be returned to their original place on the motorway.”

To carry out the scheme safely, the motorway will close from from 10pm on the Friday night until 6am on the Saturday morning on the following dates;

• 14th & 16th June – Remove gantry M8 Eastbound between Junctions 11 & 12 (04-090)

• 23rd & 24th June – Remove gantry M8 Eastbound between Junctions 14 & 15 (04-000)

• 3rd & 4th August – Remove gantry M8 Eastbound between Junctions 11 & 12 (04-110)

• 3rd & 4th August – Reinstate gantry M8 Eastbound between Junctions 11 & 12 (04-090)

• 31st August & 1st September – Reinstate gantry M8 Eastbound between Junctions 14 & 15 (04-000)

• 21st & 22nd September – Remove gantry M8 Eastbound between Junctions 11 & 12 (04-100)

• 21st & 22nd September – Reinstate gantry M8 Eastbound between Junctions 11 & 12 (04-110)

• 9th & 10th November – Reinstate gantry M8 Eastbound between Junctions 11 & 12 (04-100)

(LM/MH)