To the surprise of many, the Edinburgh Trams project people managed to open Edinburgh's main thoroughfare Princes Street last Sunday as promised. Buses, taxis and cycles have returned to Princes Street where the new tracks have been laid from west of Waverley Bridge to South Charlotte Street.
Cllr Jenny Dawe, Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, admitted that looking at Princes street a couple of weeks beforehand that "it still looked a very, very optimistic hope that everything would be ready for re-opening."
Work began to lay tramlines on Princes Street in February after the Council voted to close the whole carriageway to expedite the completion of the Princes Street works.
As well as building of tramline, which included the laying of approximately 4000 linear metres of rail track, extensive work has also been undertaken in the diversion and replacement of a large amount of aging utilities from along the tram route.
Other work undertaken during the traffic closure has included the construction of the tramstop just west of the Mound, and the installation of the Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) poles along the central reservation. The poles, which will support overhead power cables as well as overhead street lighting, were installed earlier than scheduled. Further disruption to normal traffic is expected next year when the work is completed.
“The completion of this stage of the work is a milestone for all of us," said Richard Jeffrey, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Trams. “Installing the tramworks on Princes street has been a journey of discovery in many senses including discovering uncharted underground structures, moving kilometres of complex utility pipes and cables as well setting in place an infrastructure which will support the growth of the City for years to come."
“There are many people we owe a great debt of thanks to and some of these include the people of the City of Edinburgh and the retailers and businesses on Princes Street. I would also like to thank the contractors and teams who have worked 24 hours a day for the last 8 weeks to ensure that we met the deadline. The weather has been really appalling particularly in the last week and despite this, everyone worked on."
Aside from some work reinstating parking and loading requirements along George Street, St Andrew Square and other central areas, there will be no major tramworks within the city until 4th January.
City centre traffic changes
Princes Street
Princes Street: open to buses, taxis and cyclists, with the footway on both sides fully open to pedestrians. Details of alterations to bus stop locations can be found at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/comeintotown .
George Street
George Street and its adjacent streets return to normal, with minor adjustments to the locations of the bus stops. Parking is fully re-instated.
- George Street: some buses remain including some Lothian Bus services, Citylink and Stagecoach services.
- Castle Street and Frederick Street junctions: zebra crossings re-instated
- The Hanover Street junction: signalised junction with pedestrian crossing facilities.
St Andrew Square area
South St David Street re-opens to both north and south bound traffic
- North St Andrew Street: remains closed at its junction with York Place, while South St Andrew Street closes at its junction with Princes Street.
- Vehicle access will be maintained around St Andrew Square for parking bays, taxi ranks and loading to properties.
- Further alterations will be introduced when the works recommence in January 2010.
West End
There are no changes being made to the Lothian Road junction for general traffic.
The diversion route around Charlotte Square will remain.
- Buses, taxis and cyclists will be able to turn left on to Lothian Road.
- The site compound currently outside Edwards on South Charlotte Street removed shortly after the re-opening of Princes Street.
- South Charlotte Street: left turn into Princes Street for buses, taxis and cyclists only is now permitted.