Glasgow Chamber of Commerce said options for the Woodside viaducts that carry the motorway through a busy city centre stretch of Glasgow must be properly tested.
The bridges that take the M8 above Garscube Road and New City Road at Cowcaddens have been undergoing temporary works for the last five years costing £150million so far.
Transport Scotland is currently looking at three long term options, wither to replace the bridges with new ones, repair the current structures or remove altogether.
Glasgow City Council has said removing the viaducts is in line with its policies.
Glasgow Chamber of Commerce said whatever the decision is it will have long term implications for the city and the economy.
It wants to see the technical modelling published for all three options.
The Chamber of Commerce has not given support to any of the options yet as it said there are “significant gaps” in the published evidence.
Stuart Patrick (Image: Chamber of Commerce)
Stuart Patrick, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce chief executive, said: “This is one of the most consequential infrastructure decisions Glasgow will face in a generation, and it shouldn’t be made on incomplete evidence.
“The modelling behind this consultation didn’t even test what removal plus investment in an alternative would look like.
“Before Glasgow cuts one of its main arteries, we need the completed technical work, all three options properly modelled, and the industrial case weighed as heavily as the regeneration case. Get this right and Glasgow gains, but if we get it wrong, it’s very hard to undo.”
M8 removal plan image (Image: Transport Scotland)
Glasgow Chamber of Commerce said information released by the Scottish Government under Environmental Information Regulations confirmed that the traffic modelling behind the consultation tested the removal option as a straight closure, with no compensating public transport and no local network upgrades assumed.
The Chamber also says the M8/M74 corridor is critical to the regional economy, connecting Glasgow’s manufacturing base, more than 3,000 firms and 55,000 jobs, to Glasgow Airport, Greenock Ocean Terminal and the Glasgow-Edinburgh corridor.
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “No preferred option has been identified at this stage.
“All potential options under the repair, replace and remove approaches are being appraised in line with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) process.
“Following an initial sifting of potential options, work including further traffic modelling will be undertaken to develop and assess the options taken forward for detailed consideration.
“There will be further public consultation once this option development and assessment work has been completed, to seek feedback on the findings prior to selection of the preferred option.”
