STORM ÉOWYN UPDATE

South East Scotland's trunk roads were hit by winds of over 100mph during Storm Eowyn on 24 January, following a red weather warning from the Met Office and Police Scotland advice not to travel.

Teams worked around the clock to keep routes open, with trees down at multiple locations, bringing down power lines and damaging infrastructure.

Trunk road traffic was down by 85%, however there were a number of incidents involving overturned lorries on the M8, A1 and A68.

The Forth Road Bridge, Clackmannanshire Bridge and A1 Tyne Bridge were closed to all traffic, however the Queensferry Crossing remained open to cars thanks to its wind shielding.

The clean-up operation continues, with debris removal, inspections and repairs under way.

Andy Thompson, BEAR Scotland Operating Company Representative for the South East said:  “My thanks go to our teams out on the network and in the control room on Friday and through the weekend.

“Their response was first class as always, helping us overcome any challenges along the way in what were extremely challenging conditions.

“There is quite a lot of clear up required, and this is the focus of much of our efforts this week as we deal with the residual impacts of the storm.”