The 50mph speed cameras on the A90 at Charleston are expected to go live next week,  a public meeting heard tonight.

North Kincardine Rural Community Council organised the briefing from the various organisations involved in building the Aberdeen bypass – the AWPR.

The Charleston junction is where the current A90 meets the south leg of the bypass coming from Milltimber and Wellington Road from Aberdeen.

A new flyover is being constructed at Charleston, with steel composite beams to arrive in March to bridge the A90.

While that work is under way there is a 50mph limit on the A90 from Kincorth to the Findon interchange. Average speed cameras were erected late last year and have been undergoing calibration and verification. That process is complete, but introduction of the cameras has been affected by the theft of a generator.

The meeting heard that the cameras are likely to go live next week. The AWPR representatives said that news releases and signs would warn drivers when this would happen.

The limit has been proposed for safety reasons.

The AWPR team also told me that they would look at the timing of the traffic lights on the west side of the existing flyover. The tailbacks in mornings of traffic heading north to Wellington Road have stretched back south of Hillside.

A suggestion is to be considered that single line traffic be in operation on the A90 southbound to allow traffic from Wellington Road to merge safely. There have been many near misses.

The meeting also heard about plans to build the AWPR over the South Deeside Road. This will be done in two stages, using a diversion. At no time will the SDR need to close. This work should be completed by September or October.

The B979 Milltimber Brae will be closing on the weekend of 28/29 January. This is to allow the construction of an aqueduct beside the North Deeside Road.

About 100 people attended the hour-long meeting and asked a variety of questions, which revealed among other things that they are using self-fixing concrete. At the moment the workforce is at 1300 with that expected to grow again.

Representatives assured the meeting the road is scheduled to open on schedule – in 2017/18. Quite when remains to be seen.

At the close of that part of the meeting there was an appeal for members of the public to join the Maryculter Woodland Trust. A small number of people are doing the background work, and new members would be welcomed. There is no membership fee.

Fifteen members of the public stayed for the remainder of the meeting which covered a variety of issues including planning, the zoning of children from Lairhillock primary school, broadband provision (proving tricky), co-opting a new member (Ron Farquhar from North Cookney), and future venue of meetings, which will be the Lairhillock school.