A STORM-DAMAGED road connecting the Central Belt to the south of Scotland reopened this morning (Monday).

The A68 suffered severe damage near Fala at the beginning of last month, with an entire section of the carriageway washed away in a thunderstorm (see image below, from Amey).

East Lothian Courier:

Work has been taking place since then to see the road reopened as quickly as possible.

On Friday, East Lothian’s MP Kenny MacAskill visited the site and saw firsthand the work going on to repair the damage.

He told the Courier: “I was hugely impressed by the work and was delighted to hear that it seems that the road will reopen on Monday, albeit initially with traffic lights operating at the site.

“A double shift on Sunday, including a nightshift, is planned to ensure that asphalting work etc, can be completed.

“Obviously it will depend on the weather but, hopefully, things look promising.

“The slip was significant and came about only three days after Bear had taken over the contract for maintenance of the trunk roads from Amey.

“Thankfully, I discovered that many staff had simply transferred over.”

With a section of the road swept away during the storms, it meant large vehicles were diverted from the road, which links Edinburgh and East Lothian to the Scottish Borders.

The official diversion took vehicles away from East Lothian but a number still used the more rural roads, including travelling through Humbie.

Mr MacAskill said: “The scale of the damage was huge and bringing in rocks was complicated.

“The repair also necessitated cabling for utilities being rerouted but, with reasonably favourable weather, great progress has been made.

"The works will be an upgrade to seek to avoid any further incidents and improved drainage and reinforced road and side are being built in.

“I am aware that heavy lorries and other traffic have been a real issue.

“I will contact police and the council to ensure that further advice on a return to the main route is provided.”