Smart motorway call for gridlocked Edinburgh bypass
An MSP says the hard shoulder should be opened up during the busiest times.
There is a fresh call for the hard shoulder of the Edinburgh bypass to be opened up during the rush hour to ease delays for frustrated drivers.
Conservative MSP for Lothian, Miles Briggs wants a 'smart motorway' policy introduced which would effectively create another lane when the jams are at their worst.
He told Forth News, "In other parts of the country, like in Manchester and Birmingham, they have used this to open up the bypasses in these cities.
"I think this is something we could do.
"We know the bypass is over capacity and we also know that the South East of Scotland area is continuing to grow, it is the only part of our Scottish economy which is growing.
"We need to make sure that we have the infrastructure in place to meet the needs of people who live here, to allow our economy to continue to grow".
With lots of new developments planned close to the city bypass, it is estimated the road will be carrying more than 100,000 vehicles every day in 20 years time