Final section of Aberdeen bypass opens

The £745m project - stretching 36 miles (58km) - has suffered a series of delays, and is now expected to cost more than £1bn and stakeholders remain locked in talks about liability over extra contractor costs.

The new section of road, around 4.5 miles long (7.5km), finally linked the southern Craibstone to Stonehaven and Charleston section with the Parkhill to Blackdog section in the north in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

There has been a staggered opening since the first main bypass section opened in June last year.

The final section, which opened to traffic on Tuesday morning, is between Craibstone and Parkhill.

Douglas Laird, project manager for the AWPR/B-T project at Transport Scotland, said: “This new section of road between Craibstone and Parkhill will bring a range of benefits to road users, including reduced congestion, improved journey time reliability and enhanced safety.

“However, we would like to remind road users to drive with caution for their own safety and to consider the safety of other road users as there are a number of changes to road layout to become accustomed to. There may be a degree of uncertainty amongst some drivers and all drivers should be prepared to react appropriately to ensure journeys can be completed safely.
 
“We also kindly request that road users observe all signage and modify their driving accordingly to suit the prevailing road and weather conditions, such as low sun or rain.”

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said: “This new section of the AWPR (Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route) between Parkhill and Craibstone now allows the full benefits of this transformational project to be fully realised.

“Since the major part of the road opened in December 2018, the overwhelmingly positive feedback has demonstrated the positive impact that infrastructure can bring about in people’s lives.”

On the issue of the dispute over costs with the contractor, he added: “They have a claim that they believe they have additional costs associated with this particular project, however, not all claims have merit.

“As it stands at the present moment, the overall cost of this project remains at the £745m that was set out at the very beginning.

“My interests are to protect the taxpayers here, to make sure that any additional costs that may be associated with the completion of this road which are the fault of the contractors or errors that they have made are costs that have to be borne by the contractors.

“Any additional claim that they have over and above that is one that has to go through a normal due process.”