The public will finally be able to drive along the new dual carriageway link road at the Haudagain in Aberdeen today.
More than 180ft of new carriageway will take traffic between the A92 North Anderson Drive and A96 Auchmill Road following a £49.5 million project.
The area is known for significant queues and traffic delays, an issue which is hoped will be tackled by the new road layout.
Works on the notorious bottleneck have been delayed seven times since they first began in 2017, with the pandemic and a burst gas pipe among the reasons for the pushback.
Delays ‘understandably frustrating’
Initially supposed to be completed in 2021, today the new stretch of road was finally opened by Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth.
She addressed the delays at Monday’s opening ceremony: “I know there have been delays to the completion of this project, which has been understandably frustrating for the local community.
“The contractors did suffer from staff shortages due to the impact of the Omicron variant at the turn of the year and I am hopeful the community will now welcome the project’s completion.
“I was delighted to cut the ribbon to open this new road, allowing the local community and road users of Aberdeen to start enjoying the benefits that it will bring to the north-east.”
Supporting the community
The Haudagain Improvement Project was backed by the Scottish Government and formed part of a £745m investment in the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie-Tipperty project.
Farrans Construction was awarded the contract for the works back in 2018 and supported the local community by providing jobs in the area.
Carol Fleming completed two apprenticeships on the project before working her way up to a senior engineer, and said the project helped her enhance her skills.
“I knew when I was at school that I wanted to work in the construction industry. I had a keen interest in maths and physics and loved spending time outdoors,” she explained.
“[The project] allowed me to enhance my existing skills, covering a wide range of topics such as the management of construction planning, estimating, highways maintenance, building and civil engineering.”
Improving pedestrian and cycling routes
The contractor will remain on site at Haudagain to undertake necessary finishing, snagging and seasonal landscaping works.
Barry McLean, regional director for Farrans in Scotland, explained the change completed works would hopefully bring to the area.
He said: “We are pleased to have reached this important milestone in the progress of the A92/A96 Haudagain improvement project.
“We have worked closely with Transport Scotland to deliver a scheme which will alleviate bottlenecks at the roundabout, creating a new dual carriageway and enabling improved pedestrian and cycling routes through the local area.”
The end of a long and winding road: A timeline of Haudagain project delays
