Residents and traders in Croftamie were breathing a massive sigh of relief when the Catterburn Bridge finally re-opened after a 21- month closure.
Business owners were brought to their knees as the route, on the A809 – from the B834 to the A811 – was shut in September 2021 due to a partial collapse.
The closure meant that traffic which would have travelled through Croftamie and onwards to Drymen and beyond were unable to do so, leaving business starved of trade.
Repair work on the structure began last August and a provisional re-opening date was set for March this year. However, the work was hit by numerous delays.
The route finally re-opened to the first traffic in almost two years on Wednesday evening, initially to one-way traffic.
Stirling Council’s environment, transport and net zero committee convener, Councillor Jen Preston this week said: “We know the closure of the A809 and Catterburn Bridge has caused serious disruption to local residents and businesses for almost two years.
“We would like to apologise again for the inconvenience and thank everyone for their patience and understanding of the complexities of the repair work involved.
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“These works have been difficult and have involved numerous agencies and services working together in often challenging conditions.
“We’re looking forward to seeing a return to normal traffic flows in and around Croftamie and surrounding areas.”
Throughout the closure, business owners in west Stirlingshire hit out at the length of time for the repair work to initially begin and then be completed.
One business owner this week welcomed the re-opening. Barbara Cunningham, owner of the But and Ben Cafe in the village’s Main Street, previously told the Observer how she relies mostly on passing trade through the area and detailed how missing out on busy summer trade last year led to deepening concerns.
Barbara this week told the Observer: “Hallelujah! We’re just delighted that it is finally open. At long last, we can get that passing trade back in and today (Thursday) we’ve already seen a big difference.
“It’s so welcome that it has re-opened just in time for the busy summer months.”
In August last year, the council told how the bridge was scheduled to reopen to traffic in early 2023, with a single lane reopening in February followed by a full reopening in March. However, that was hit by delays and the re-opening was further pushed back to April.
Last month, we then told how the re-opening was delayed yet again, due to “complex works involving the diversion of utilities, as well as a number of other operational tasks”.
The re-opening was then pencilled in for the week beginning May 22. However, just a day before it was to re-open, locals were informed it was to be delayed a further week.
In October last year, we told how one business closed its doors due to the disruption cause by the bridge closure. The Perch coffee shop closed, with five staff being made redundant and one being re-employed in the owner’s accommodation business, with the owner citing the closure of the bridge for cutting off its regular flow of customers.
Catterburn Bridge was one of two major road network disruptions in west Stirlingshire in recent years. Branshogle Bridge, on the B818 near Balfron, re-opened to traffic last December. It had been out of bounds following a partial collapse back in March 2021 due to heavy rainfall.
