A7 - A68 - A720 comments archive

The tailbacks can be so long on the A720, morning noon and night, that eastbound drivers often decide to take off on a little rat-run through south-east Edinburgh, taking the previous junction for the A772 into town, through Gilmerton and Danderhall on the B701, then on to the A7 to approach Sherriffhall from the north where the queues are supposed to be much shorter. But given the awful state of this junction, even the rat-run is getting clogged - it's beyond reproach!

If Sherrifhall is built over former mine workings, then this suggests that an underpass, as well as being the only structurally possible solution, is likely to be half-built already if you see what I mean.

This is the junction which makes the Sunday trip to Ikea a total nightmare, as if it wasn't bad enough! This junction is just one of a few reasons why the A720 falls well short of the standard it should be. The Hermiston Gait roundabout at the end of the M8, Old craighall roundabout where the A720 meets the A1 and the fact that although there are restrictions, you can still drive a tractor or a JCB on the bypass! In short, the road is best avoided completely at peak times.

While there is not much to say in favour of Sheriffhall, the old A7, now A772, does have a flyover of the A720 a bit to the west, helping to reduce the conflict.

The real reason why this junction is a roundabout and not properly grade-separated is definitely the second reason, that there are abandoned mine workings in the vicinity which make grade-separation too risky. Not so very long ago there was even trouble when some nearby houses started subsiding and the occupiers had to be rehoused at some expense. Since the A7 is one of the main routes into and out of Edinburgh, it's highly unlikely that the first explanation was ever close to reality.

All this aside, it sucks - I've been stuck at this roundabout myself, in hot weather - but I'd prefer that to slowly sinking into the ground.