The long-awaited £22.3million Third Don Crossing will finally open to traffic today.
Lord Provost George Adam will be the first to be driven over the multi-million pound link between Tillydrone and Danestone this morning, as the prelude to it opening to other traffic in the afternoon.
Recently christened as the Diamond Bridge, following a vote by pupils at Riverbank and Danestone primaries, the project has been delayed several times and is around £3million over its original budget.
Yesterday, council regeneration spokesman Ross Grant visited Riverbank school pupils to tell them about the project.
The Tillydrone councillor said: “Like many local residents and commuters from both sides of the River Don, the community around Riverbank School will notice a big difference in getting around the city when the bridge opens.
“Through discussions and work with community partners, we have been committed throughout to ensuring that mitigation is in place.”
A new single carriageway link road has been constructed between the Parkway/Whitestripes Road junction and the Tillydrone Avenue/St Machar Drive junctions, including the construction of the new bridges.
There have been numerous delays on the project, which commenced in November 2014, including a hiatus in January after Ian Walker tragically died while working on the site.
Last night SNP group leader Stephen Flynn said lessons must be learned from the “shambles” and said a report was being prepared on the process.
He added: “I think this will certainly benefit the city in terms of traffic flow, but there have to be lessons learned from the delays which many residents feel are totally unacceptable.”
Conservative councillor and north-east MSP Ross Thomson said: “I am delighted that the Third Don Crossing has finally reached completion.
“This vital piece of infrastructure has been talked about for decades, but it took sustained pressure from the Scottish Conservatives at local council level to deliver it.”
