IT'S great news for student pranksters but a devastating setback for drivers. Scottish Water is spending an astonishing £20m on traffic cones ahead of an unprecedented spate of roadworks.
In what is believed to be the biggest contract of its type north of the Border, as many as two million new cones - enough to seal off around 700 miles of road - will be appearing on the nation's streets.
The cones, barriers and other equipment ar
e needed because Scottish Water is expanding its programme of water mains replacement. It will spend £2.4bn in the next four years, digging up 300 roads in the first year alone.
The quango says the work is essential to stop pipes leaking and cut back the massive loss of clean water. In the previous four years, £1.8bn was spent replacing 2,000 miles of pipes.
But the increase in works means misery for motorists. In the coming year alone, Glasgow drivers will suffer more than 30 sets of Scottish Water works and Edinburgh more than 20.
Scotland's new "Cones Tsar" - roadworks commissioner John Gooday - said yesterday all utilities should have to "rent" the lanes they dig, with penalties paid by those who miss deadlines and bonuses paid to those who finish early.
Scottish Water has invited companies to tender for a deal to supply traffic cones, barriers, lights and traffic-flow control systems to help them manage queues. The four-year contract is estimated by Scottish Water to be worth up to £5m a year.
Many parts of Scotland's water and sewer system date back to the 19th century and have only received stop-gap repairs since then to keep them in working order long after their predicted life expectancy.
An industry insider said of the contract: "It's a very substantial contract. I think it's the biggest of that kind I have ever encountered."
Motorists were last night putting a brave face on the prospects of more roadworks. Edinburgh's highly controversial tram programme will lead to years of delays in the already congested city. Scottish Water has said it wants to do the repairs while the tram work is being done so as to minimise the chances of the road being dug up repeatedly.
Neil Greig, the director of the Institute of Advanced Motorists Motoring Trust in Scotland, said: "I suppose there's no gain without pain. We all know that the water systems and the pipes need an awful lot of work done to them.
"Let's just hope that it can be done as quickly as possible and let's hope to see some innovative ways to speed things up. The new roadworks commissioner has talked about lane rental to reward contractors for finishing early, and there seems to be a good argument for that."
A spokesman for Scottish Water said: "Between 2002 and 2006, Scottish Water set an industry record for renewing water pipes, at 36km a week.
"In the four years we fixed nearly 3,000km; that's the distance from Caithness to Casablanca. However, this work only amounted to 6% of our water network. That illustrates that there's still a lot to do to reduce the amount of water which leaks from our ageing Victorian infrastructure.
"We appreciate that these necessary improvement works inevitably result in disruption to communities. However, we always look to complete the job as speedily as possible to minimise disturbance.
"We are extremely keen to make sure all such works are carried out as efficiently as possible."
A source added: "We inherited a very old infrastructure and nothing had been done to it for decades. That means a lot has to be done very rapidly.
"If roads are flooded because of burst supplies and burst sewers then it is even worse than the inconvenience of traffic jams while pipes are being laid."
