It’s the question everyone dealing with Aberdeen’s traffic nightmare has been asking over and over — why is the council doing all these massive roadworks projects at the same time?
For months now, the roads in the south of the city have been horrendously congested because of the simultaneous works on South College Street and the King George VI bridge.
Many people have voiced their frustration by taking to social media to criticise Aberdeen City Council for allowing the two hugely disruptive road schemes to go ahead at once.
The situation has resulted in huge, trailing tailbacks and traffic jams across much of the south of the city, including the Garthdee, Duthie Park, Kincorth and Riverside Drive areas.
So what’s the council’s reasoning — or as some might say, excuses — for all of these works overlapping this year?
Need for specialists contributed to disastrous overlap of projects
The £330,000 works on the B-listed King George VI bridge commenced on March 14 this year.
But it was due to start a long time earlier.
The council said it realised repairs and refurbishments would be required after an inspection found the “need for urgent work on the bridge’s concrete structure and a protective waterproofing layer beneath the road”.
More serious structural degradation of the bridge was found than anticipated, the council said, “which required additional work”.
The crossing, as Aberdonians are now only too aware, is a crucial part of the city’s transport network, and if it were allowed to get any worse and close entirely, it would create an even bigger headache for road users.
And so the council set out to secure specialist contractors to get the King George VI bridge back to normal.
However, the contractors required are in short supply in the UK, and only two expressed an interest.
And with so few choices of people to do the work, the council says it’s been forced to fit their schedules.
Work was originally due to start in May 2022, and would have lasted seven weeks to match with lower traffic levels that come with the school summer holidays.
The council said: “Unfortunately, the contract had to be postponed due to circumstances outwith the council’s control.
“The only available slot for the contractor was during spring 2023 with the works being completed by late June 2023.
“This delay also brought the works into conflict with the works on South College Street, but had to happen due to the availability of the contractor.”
Why is the Bridge of Dee restricted too?
There has been a one-way system in place on the King George VI bridge since the works started.
This has been matched with another one-way system in the opposite direction on the nearby Bridge of Dee at Garthdee.
Right now, drivers can only go southbound on the Bridge of Dee, and northbound on the King George bridge.
But why is the Bridge of Dee facing restrictions too?
The council said the Bridge of Dee, which dates back to 1527, usually has a width restriction which stops heavy goods vehicles like lorries from using it.
These HGVs would usually have to use the King George VI bridge.
But, over the course of the works, the council has allowed HGV drivers to use the Bridge of Dee to give them a way of crossing the river — with a catch.
Because of the nature of the structure of the Bridge of Dee, the council said, HGVs have to travel over the centre of it, straddling both carriageways, and as a result “it can’t remain open to two-way traffic”.
The council said it can’t divert these big lorries via the Queen Elizabeth bridge because of a height restriction on Riverside Drive, near the Wellington suspension bridge.
How does all this work out with the simultaneous South College Street works?
The traffic headache of the dual restrictions on King George VI bridge and the Bridge of Dee are bad enough on their own, but they’ve really compounded the traffic problems created by the ongoing closure of South College Street.
Plans to improve traffic flow along the busy commuter road, as well as surrounding areas, have been on the cards since 2004.
But, it wasn’t until June last year that work finally commenced on the site.
The main changes being worked on for the South College Street project include:
- Another traffic lane along South College Street from Bank Street to Wellington Place
- Another lane on Palmerston Place
- A new traffic signal-controlled junction between Palmerston Place and North Esplanade West
- Changes to parking and loading areas on South College Street from
Millburn Street to Riverside Drive - Alterations at the existing traffic light-controlled junctions between South College Street and Wellington Place, as well as the one further south between South College Street, Millburn Street and Palmerstone Place, which include new approach lanes.
The grand opening date has always been “spring 2023”, but, this perhaps all depends on one’s definition of spring.
(The Met Office, by the way, says meteorological spring is March, April and May).
Works have progressed significantly around South College street, however they are very much still ongoing, and closures are still listed on the contractor’s website up to and including June 12.
The city council says South College Street is still “estimated for completion in Spring 2023 with the main roads open”, but the timetable depends on factors like material availability, and the weather.
So, in summary, why has the council let both projects happen at the same time?
The council’s main reason for both South College Street and King George VI roadworks taking place simultaneously is the contract being postponed for the King George VI project.
“Under the original King George VI programme for 2022, the works would have been completed before the South College Street works had started,” said the council.
But it insisted the contract for the specialist work had to be postponed “due to circumstances out with the council’s control”.
The precise nature of these circumstances is not yet known.
In allowing both works to happen at once, the council said its roads officers “had to consider the deterioration which had occurred to the bridge”.
They also had to take into account how much worse the problem would be if the King George VI bridge works were delayed even further.
Council apologises for Aberdeen’s traffic nightmare
The council has acknowledged the problem that’s been caused for months on end for car drivers, bus users, and everyone else travelling around the south of Aberdeen.
It said: “We apologise for the inconvenience of the roadworks, however they are essential for the integrity of the King George VI bridge.”
The end date for the King George VI bridge project is still “late June 2023”, and this is in fact sooner than the original plan, at the request of the council.
Read more about the impact of the twin closures here.
UPDATE, 14/06/23:
At a full meeting of Aberdeen City Council on June 14, officers said they estimate the King George VI bridge will be fully reopened to traffic in both directions from Tuesday, June 20.
This will also mean traffic will be fully reinstated on the Bridge of Dee from the same date in both directions.
The South College Street works are also estimated to be finishing up in the first week of July, finally allowing traffic to use the busy route once more.
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