MOTORISTS have been driven round the bend by road improvements in Dunfermline that were supposed to be completed in February.

Six months on and the £900,000 project to put traffic lights on the roundabout at Pitreavie is still not finished, and Fife Council don't know when it will be.

Service manager Mark Dewar apologised again for the continuing delays and added: "Unfortunately these works are taking longer than we planned.

"New traffic signals are planned for the site.

"However industry delays have meant that we are waiting for specialist electronic equipment and software which control the lights.

"The lights then have to be tested before we can sign off this work. We are working with the specialist sub-contractor to get this issue resolved as soon as possible.

"We appreciate that any roadworks cause frustration for drivers and we're sorry that this work is taking longer than expected."

Earlier this summer the council warned that a combination of Brexit and the pandemic had led to rising costs and a shortage of materials and supplies – everything from timber, bricks and plastics to food, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and microchips.

They also warned that disruption was "likely to get worse".

The roundabout at Pitreavie is the first major upgrade of Dunfermline's transport infrastructure, the initial instalment of £37 million of road improvements to enable the network to keep up with the town's rate of expansion.

Thousands of new homes are to be built in and around Dunfermline over the next 20 years and the works are necessary to keep the traffic flowing smoothly.

The works include two new bypass roads, to serve new housing estates and take traffic away from the town centre, as well as traffic lights at Bothwell Gardens roundabout, the King Malcolm / Grange Drive roundabout and the Kings Road / Admiralty Road roundabout in Rosyth.

Three road bridges will be built over railway lines and improvements made to the junctions at Whitefield Road / Halbeath Road, William Street / Pittencrieff Street and Rumblingwell / William Street.

The council’s transport spokesman, councillor Altany Craik, previously stated: “Developers have to contribute to the improvement of the road network where they cause an impact, and I’m delighted that the first of the works will be improvements to the Pitreavie roundabout in the town – something I know will be welcomed by residents and visitors. This is the first of several measures we’ll be putting in place to make sure our local roads network will work effectively for pedestrians, cyclists and cars, as new housing and businesses are developed in the Dunfermline area.

“Overall, more than £37m of road improvement projects will be delivered, completely funded by developers, and will see several improvements to the transportation network in Dunfermline over the next two decades.”