A proposed roads budget for the current year was put before elected members at this week’s Helensburgh and Lomond Area Committee.

The report outlines details of the proposed roads reconstruction programme for the current financial year.

Stewart Clark, roads performance manager for Argyll and Bute Council, was at the Helensburgh and Lomond Area Committee meeting on Tuesday to discuss the report with councillors.

The report shows Argyll and Bute Council’s total provisional budget allocation for the year for area based schemes is £4,366,000, however, the current estimate is already over that figure – £4,367, 487.

For Helensburgh and Lomond, the provisional budget is £611,240, and the current estimate is £610,002.

The report notes that ‘attention is drawn’ to roads that may not necessarily be considered in ‘poor condition’. Resurfacing is carried out if the current ‘skid resistance’ on the road is poor, or ‘before it fails’.

All resurfacing will be delivered by an external contractor according to the report, and the tender process is currently under way.

Currently, 11 locations have been identified as needing work, with eight needing resurfacing.

The A814 takes up half of the identified work, with work expected to be undertaken on East Clyde Street, and at Glenmalan, Morelaggan, Tighness, and Gareloch Road.

There are plans to resurface East Clyde Street to Waitrose roundabout from number 221, an estimated cost of £55,800.

Estimated costs are still subject to review following ‘detailed’ site investigations.

Dates for the proposed works are not yet available, however Councillor Aileen Morton asked Mr Clark to guarantee that both main routes into Helensburgh would not be affected with traffic lights and road works, following a similar event happening in summer 2013.

She said: “Are you going to be doing that to the two main routes into the town at the same time?

“That raises issues. The temperatures rocketed but the A814 and the A818 were having works done. It was unfortunate.

“I had complaints from many people. Please do not do the two main routes at the same time.” Mr Clark said he was ‘happy to give assurance’ that it would not happen.

Councillor David Kinniburgh also asked Mr Clark to clear up whether or not planned council maintenance of roads would be interfere with Scottish Gas Network maintenance set to start this month.

He said that with the gas works starting in Cardross this month, with work ongoing for 26 weeks, would other work be done on the same route at that time which would hold people up in multiple places with roadworks.

Mr Clark said he would ‘make a note’ of the concern.