Long-awaited improvements to Aberdeen’s Haudagain roundabout will not be completed before the spring as the Scottish Government blames recent bad weather for this latest delay in the project.
In what is a sixth change to the expected finish date since plans emerged, Transport Minister Graeme Dey has confirmed the notorious milestone will not be clear of disruption until March.
The so-called Haudagain bypass – a new road linking North Anderson Drive to Auchmill Road – was previously hoped to open this winter.
Minister: Risk of Haudagain roundabout delay had ‘always been highlighted’
But Mr Dey, in a letter to north-east MSPs, confirmed the £18 million work around what was once named the UK’s worst roundabouts would creep into spring.
Overall, the multi-million-pound improvement project at the congestion blackspot where the A92 Stonehaven to Blackdog and A96 Aberdeen to Inverness roads meet is priced at £50m.
Farrans Construction was on course to finish the roadworks around the new bypass which is not thought to alter the cost of the 1,600ft of dual carriageway by the end of winter, until recent storms battered the north and north-east.
Mr Dey said: “The contractor now indicates an anticipated date for completion of works allowing roads to open to traffic by the end of March 2022.
“The contractor has reported impacts to programme critical work within the previous month due to adverse weather from Storm Arwen and Storm Barra.
“Until these recent events the contractor had been able to maintain an expected completion date within the winter 2021 period, despite the challenges posed throughout 2021 by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and industry-wide supply chain issues.”
Last December, the government quietly announced the pandemic had pushed the completion date back six months.
The transport minister said risk of delays caused by unforeseen events had “always been highlighted” and said the March finish date would be dependent on no further extreme weather or disruption caused by Covid.
A burst gas main and “technical issues” with the road surface have also been blamed for the prolonged work.
Latest Haudagain roundabout delay ‘extremely disappointing’
Scottish Conservative north-east MSP Liam Kerr, who raised the issue at First Minister’s Question earlier this month, said yet another delay was “extremely disappointing”.
“The Scottish Government has fed the public countless completion dates that haven’t been met and this is another to add to the long list,” he added.
“This latest delay is a kick in the teeth to the people of Aberdeen who have now waited 15 years for one of Europe’s worst roundabouts to be upgraded.
“It now raises questions if the next completion date will be met and whether it will burst the budget like so many other past SNP projects such as the AWPR.
“I will continue to monitor the situation to ensure the north-east gets value for money.”
However, the transport minister confirmed the Haudagain bill was still expected to come to £18m.
The congested road to a better Haudagain roundabout: A timeline
June 2008: Plans for a road through Middlefield, bypassing the Haudagain roundabout, are unveiled
August 2010: The Scottish Government greenlights the bypass around the notorious congestion blackspot
May 2011: The Haudagain is named among frontrunners for UK’s worst traffic bottleneck in the Roundabout Idol competition
December 2012: Then council deputy leader Marie Boulton suggests building a tunnel underneath the roundabout
April 2014: Plans, drawn up by Jacobs UK, go on public display
August 2016: Aberdeen City Council approves relocation of its tenants living in 130 homes to be demolished to make way for new road
February 2017: Final plans are revealed
May 2017: Ground is broken on the site
March completion date at the Haudagain ‘welcomed’ – despite delay
Plans for the road through Middlefield, bypassing the roundabout, first emerged for the work in 2008 and ground was broken on the site nine years later, in May 2017.
And so a definite end in sight was greeted as good news by Councillor Jackie Dunbar, SNP MSP for Aberdeen Donside: “It is welcomed that the Haudagain improvement works are now on track to be completed by the end of March 2022.
“This is obviously later than was initially anticipated, but I think we can all appreciate the pressure Covid-19, and recent adverse weather, have placed on the construction industry.
“I think local residents must be commended for their patience given the extended timeframe.
“The new road layout is going to be a massive benefit to the transport network in our city and is another example of the Scottish Government investing in Aberdeen.”
The Haudagain: An Aberdeen landmark whose days are thankfully numbered
