A "WEAK" overpass in the centre of Glasgow used by 60,000 vehicles a day could be in line for a £12m upgrade.

 

Shieldhall Overpass, near the Clyde tunnel, is one of 13 in the city classed as weak but the only council-owned one needing improvement work.

Details of the situation have been revealed in a Freedom of Information request to Glasgow City Council.

It shows the council estimates the work will be done after 2018.

Council bosses stressed there were no concerns about the bridge's safety, saying that some of the £12m was needed for strengthening work, and the remainder for repair and upgrading.

A spokeswoman said the overpass - one of the city's busiest stretches of roads - was not in any danger of collapsing. She said a weight restriction introduced two years ago - hence it's 'temporarily weak' classification - was paying off.

The council spent nearly £4m on work on the Shieldhall Overpass more than two years ago.

Roads bosses said at the time that the continued use of the bridge by lorries up to the maximum permitted weight of 44 tonnes could result in it being damaged.

The council brought in the weight restriction order in December 2012, limiting heavy goods vehicles using the road to 7.5 tons.

Brian Devlin, executive director of land and environmental services with the city council, said at the time that the £3.75m improvements would extend the length of life of the overpass which was "important transport link to the Clyde Tunnel, the new South Glasgow University Hospital and the M8."

The other bridge requiring work is the Network Rail bridge at Muirhead Road, which needs £1m strengthening work.

The council said it inspects all weak bridges every two years.