Months of misery for motorists using Aberdeen’s King George VI bridge is expected to end within days.
Roads chiefs have announced £330,000 work on the River Dee crossing has taken less time than feared.
Drivers travelling to and from the south of Aberdeen have faced months of frustration as a result of the resurfacing and waterproofing.
King George VI bridge roadworks caused ‘chaos’
To manage the disruption, council bosses imposed a one-way system on the B-listed structure – and another, in the opposite direction, on the Bridge of Dee.
That those were switched halfway through the project only added to the confusion of drivers who had just begun to navigate the queues.
Work began on March 14 and were hoped to be finished in mid June.
But a three-week delay was announced in April, pencilling in queues right through until the end of June.
More serious degradation of the structure was found, meaning contractors thought the work would take longer.
So few companies bid for the bridge work that the council was forced to their schedules.
Relief for South College Street road users too
However, city roads and infrastructure manager Doug Ritchie told councillors the second phase of work, after the direction switch on the bridges, had actually gone faster than anticipated.
“The current estimated opening date is Tuesday,” he announced to applause at the Town House.
“It is provisional at the moment.”
It was the first of two ovations for long-serving official, who was overseeing the bridge overhaul as his last major project ahead of retirement.
He also revealed work in South College Street should be completed in the first week of July.
King George VI bridge inquest: ‘Sad truth is roadworks cause delays’
The news came as councillors demanded the council review the ordeal, which has tortured motorists for months.
All agreed the closures could have been handled better.
Top brass blamed the shortage of contractors for the overlapping upheaval on the bridges and South College Street.
However the SNP-Lib Dem administration and Labour split over whether it merited being called “chaos”.
Council co-leader Ian Yuill said: “Sadly, any major roads project tends to cause disruption, delay and also potentially has economic impact on businesses.
“Our staff have worked to minimise that.
“Quite clearly (carrying out projects in tandem) is something to be avoided if at all possible.
“What we need to do is review the bridge project and see if lessons can be learned.”
Labour’s Lynn Thomson – whose Torry and Ferryhill ward bore the brunt of the bridge chaos – countered: “I am delighted to hear the bridge is to open on June 20.
“All bridges are bottlenecks and so any closure will cause disruption. But I am sure there are lessons that can be learned.”
