Motorists are facing delays this spring with the lengthy closure of two busy roads.
In Inverurie, West High Street will be shut off for up to three months while SGN upgrade the gas network.
The work will involve replacing old pipes, and will be carried out in five phases from April 6.
On the same day, a section of the north-east’s “unofficial bypass” will also close for a month – forcing motorists to take a 25 mile detour.
The B979 Netherley road will shut for drainage works for the multimillion pound Ury Estate development at Stonehaven.
The route will close from North Lodge to the junction east of New Mains of Ury Farm. Instead, motorists will have to continue along the A90 Stonehaven to Aberdeen road and join South Deeside Road at the Bridge of Dee.
Local councillor Ian Mollison said: “This closure will no doubt inconvenience residents to some extent, and it will also force drivers – lorry drivers in particular – to use the A90 rather than the B979, which has become an unofficial Aberdeen bypass via Netherley and Peterculter, and onwards to Westhill.”
In Inverurie, business leaders vowed to do all they could to minimise disruption for shoppers and visitors during the gas works.
Jackie Allen, chairwoman of Inverurie Business Association, said: “It will obviously cause a lot of disruption, but we don’t know yet which sections of the road will be closed for how long, so we’ll need to wait until a bit more information is available.
“The council has been a lot better at keeping us informed so retailers can plan for road closures, perhaps reassessing how many staff they need on.
“We’ve had quite a lot of upheaval over the years, but it’s necessary repairs that need to be done and there’s never a good time.”
Since traffic will already be disrupted, Aberdeenshire Council will also be carrying out works on the street lights on the road.
Although exact details of the closures have yet to be finalised, the first area to be shut off will be Station Road, from the roundabout with Constitution Street, as well as one lane of Market Place.
A spokeswoman for SGN said: “A lot of our pipes are being replaced as they have reached the end of their useful life, so we are carrying out a programme of replacement work to continue to provide a safe and reliable gas supply.
“We’re aware that this is a sensitive area and apologise for any disruption that the work causes, and would like to thank people for their patience.”
