Businesses are being warned of traffic management to allow vital works as part of a £2.5m flood alleviation project on the A8 in Greenock.

From Monday 27 February for approximately two weeks, a short section of the A8 between Douglas Rae Road, at James Watt Dock, and Pottery Street will be reduced to one lane in each direction.

Trial holes need to be excavated to establish the exact location of utilities and connection points ahead of the main carriageway works being carried out later in the spring.

Georgina Reid, Scottish Water’s regional affairs manager in the west, said: “The recent flooding on this road was a stark reminder of how vital it is for us to deliver this much-needed project.

“We will need to divert a gas main and re-route a water main before upgrading the existing sewer pipe and connecting it to the new combined sewer overflow (CSO) we are constructing beneath the council’s Pottery Street depot.

“In order to carry out that phase of the project as quickly and safely as possible we need to know exactly where everything is so that we can plan accordingly.

“We have been in discussion with Inverclyde Council, AMEY, and other agencies to do all that we can to minimise any disruption and to keep the traffic flowing.

“We are advising road users to allow extra time for their journeys to offset any possible delays.”

Construction of the CSO began at the start of January. Once completed towards the end of April, the work will move out onto the A8 for approximately five months.

Georgina Reid added: “We are acutely aware of the sensitivities involved in this project and the potential disruption for the wider travelling public and local people.

“There has been considerable planning, modelling, and discussion over many months to deliver much-needed protection against flooding on this arterial route.

“We are confident by keeping the road open, giving significant advance notice, and with the co-operation of road users we can avoid major delays over what is a relatively short period of time.”