PRINCES Street is to fully reopen on Saturday (August 29), following a major fire at a former department store building in early July.
Significant work has been carried over the past seven weeks to make the building safe, including the front façade being fully stabilised with supporting steel beams.
Further to this was the eastern gable of the building being secured and made safe. This involved reducing it in height by approximately two metres and supporting it with scaffolding.
Several tonnes of bricks and unsafe stonework – some weighing as much as 850kg – from the upper levels of the façade have been carefully removed and stored for reuse, while several tonnes of debris and dangerous materials have also been removed.
At the time, structural engineers concluded that the building’s ‘fragile state’ meant that vehicles – including trams – should not pass, even at low speeds – with it preventing a ‘serious risk’ to public safety.
However, Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams are working to resume services, with pedestrian access restored between Castle and Frederick Street for the first time since 9 July.
Subject to successful testing overnight on Friday, trams will run to their full route from the Airport to Newhaven and all city centre bus diversions will end, the local authority added.
Remedial work on the site will continue, which requires the pavement on the north side of Princes Street to remain closed. One lane of the eastbound carriageway will be used as a temporary pedestrian walkway.
City of Edinburgh Council leader, Jane Meagher, said, “The reopening of Princes Street is a significant step in the city’s recovery from, what was, a devastating fire – and I’m sure it will come as a great relief to many. This has been an incredibly difficult few weeks for the city, not least given the timing, and I’m pleased that we can now turn our attention to getting Edinburgh back to normal as helping those businesses most affected to get back on their feet.”
