A slew of temporary road closures will be enforced this week as Transport Scotland officially opens the Craibstone to Stonehaven and Charleston section of the long-awaited Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.
The traffic measures will allow contractors to put up new signs and paint new road markings.
Motorists have also been urged to drive with “extreme caution” as they become used to the new sections of road.
Traffic management will be in place on the new A90 northbound between its Kingswells North junction and the Craibstone junction to guide road users safely off the A90 until the remainder of the AWPR opens to traffic.
A temporary signed route to direct traffic from Craibstone to Parkhill will show drivers travelling east that they should use the A96 and then the A92 until they reach Blackdog, where they can rejoin the AWPR to Parkhill, or continue north on the new A90 Balmedie to Tipperty section.
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The reverse journey will be used by those wishing to travel south to Craibstone.
The route will be in use until the works at the River Don crossing are complete and the final section of the bypass opens to all motorists.
Overnight lane closures will be established in several locations throughout the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire road network from 8pm today until the new A90 opens to traffic.
The closures will be in place on the A92 at Stonehaven and Charleston, the A93 North Deeside Road, the A944 at Kingswells and the A96 at the Craibstone Roundabout.
Transport Scotland has also encouraged all drivers to be extra careful while they and other motorists get used to the 20 miles of new roads opening this week.
A phased approach will be used by the police to open all the new junctions, initially starting with Craibstone being open to traffic, with junctions at Stonehaven, Charleston, Deeside and Kingswells following shortly thereafter.
The Cleanhill junction, which links the new A90 with the new section of the A956, will also be opening through the same process.
Douglas Laird, project manager for the AWPR project at Transport Scotland said: “We understand that the people of the north east are keen to use the AWPR as soon as possible but we have to remind people that this is a major piece of infrastructure which is opening to traffic.
“This means that significant changes will be implemented overnight on other trunk roads, such as the A96, and local roads across the north east network, to accommodate new junctions and new temporary speed restrictions.
“It is therefore imperative that they not only drive with more caution for their own safety but also consider the safety of other road users’ and road workers alike.
“There may be a degree of uncertainty among some drivers and they should be prepared to react appropriately to ensure journeys can be completed safely.”
River Don Crossing the final piece in the AWPR puzzle
Transport Scotland has said work should finally be completed this month, as long as severe weather doesn’t hit the region.
Once it has been signed-off as safe, its much-delayed completion will enable the bypass to be opened in its entirety.
In June, it first emerged that cracks had first been discovered in the new structure, forcing contractors to undertake remedial works.
Giving evidence to parliamentary committee last week, contractors Balfour Beatty and Galliford Try revealed whole sections had to be removed and recast and the bridge re-tensioned.
Further works were then required after similar flaws were discovered in other sections of the crossing.
It is understood those defects have now been fully repaired and that construction is now in its final stages.
In evidence to the committee, the contractors said: “The remedial works(on the Don Crossing are forecast to be complete just before Christmas, which would allow opening of the full project.”
They did, however, warn that such a timescale was “challenging” and both “highly susceptible to adverse weather” and “subject to stringent safety tests”.
