Uneven road signs have been installed on the A78 from Meadowhead, Irvine to Ayr road, in recent weeks, due to deteriorating conditions on the initial stretch of the road.
In the past week, a 40mph temporary speed limit has been introduced on the section of road that is affected.
Ayrshire Daily News has received numerous concerns from local residents, all of whom have also lodged complaints with the road maintenance firm, Amey.
We contacted Amey in December 2023 regarding the conditions and received acknowledgment that inspections would be carried out. These did occur, but road conditions have since worsened.
We then contacted Amey again on 20th March 2024 and have received the following statement:
A spokesperson for Amey, the company maintaining the southwest Trunk Road network on behalf of Transport Scotland, said:
"Temporary uneven surface signage has been installed on the A78 at Meadowhead to pre-warn road users of the carriageway condition and carriageway resurfacing to address this is scheduled to take place within the next quarter.
"This section of carriageway is inspected weekly, and any Category 1 defects are repaired. There will be an improvement in quality that may be noticeable to road users once major resurfacing maintenance is completed.
“This maintenance scheme will be communicated via our website swtrunkroads.scot, and affected road users are encouraged to sign up to our free Roadwork Alert service for more information."
Since we received this communication in March 2024 stating that resurfacing will take place within the next quarter, which starts in April, this means works could commence by up to June.
One concerned local resident, who wishes not to be named, said: "Drivers are furious. This isn't just a small pothole or two; this is a long stretch of road with major potholes, and it's only recently they have limited the speed to 40mph on the affected area. I've counted now 6 vehicles when I've been driving past that are either parked on the grass verge or the lay-by with damage to their cars' tyres. It's unacceptable to leave a road in such disrepair, especially considering the 70mph speed limits. It’s dangerous. What does it take for these large organisations to do something about it? An accident?”
If you have been directly impacted by the conditions of the road, or have seen new developing issues, you can submit a report here: https://swtrunkroads.scot/report-a-problem/