There is still no opening date for the AWPR. At a meeting tonight with the managing agent and contractor representatives I was told that the completion date will be early 2018.
We heard that much of the main route is at the stage of coming to a conclusion. The contractors can lay 1 kilometre (what’s wrong with miles?) of tar per day – and there are 58 kms of the main road in total. Some has already been completed. There are also 18 kms of new footpaths and cycle paths (though not parallel to the AWPR).
– In a few weeks they will be demolishing the Charleston flyover. Traffic will be diverted on to the new bridge – probably – next weekend.
– There are three sections to be added in the middle of the new Dee crossing. The final stitch will be in early November, and it will be finished by early January.
– At the Stonehaven junction, the beams across the B979 road should be in place by the end of the month and the new A90 bridge completed by Christmas. This is weather-dependent though.
– I was assured that the target for reopening the local roads at Burnhead is 16 October. It could be a day earlier, or a day later.
– There are on-going discussions among the interested parties (including the local councils) about the arrangements for reinstating local roads once the AWPR construction work is completed.
– Detrunking of the existing A90 will take place in the April following the opening of the new road. That means responsibility for the current road will transfer to the two local authorities.
– I also asked about the suggestion that people are given the opportunity to walk the AWPR before it is opened to traffic. I was told that they are keen to take that forward and it is being given consideration by the partners.
– Aberdeen Roads Ltd will maintain a local presence for 30 years after the road is opened as they will be responsible for maintenance, cleaning, and gritting. A site has yet to be identified for the 30 or so staff. At its peak the project employed 2300 people of 22 nationalities.
I would hope that the detrunking of the current A90 doesn’t lead to a serious deterioration of the road surface due to impoverished Councils not being able to afford the upkeep! I suspect it will still be heavily used by residents from Stonehaven north commuting into Aberdeen City. Hopefully a reduction in HGV’s using that stretch of road should reduce the wear and tear.
Dear Sub-editor.
… ‘what’s wrong with miles ?’ you ask…….couldn’t agree more, but I might also say – ‘kilometres’ is/are surely so spelt ?
Either spelling can be used, though kilometre is indeed the version more in use, based on the original French.
Miles are redundant – a good thing. Kilometers are American English – a good thing in America. Kilometres only then please as this is Scotland and much of our country claims to be European with only a couple of golf courses claiming to be American.
If you care to look at road signs throughout the UK, you will see they give distances in miles. It is UK law that road distances are given in miles. And given that the UK is turning its back on Europe, I can’t see that changing!
Because Engineers and Scientists have moved to metric measurements years ago, children are taught in school using metric measurements, it’s what the rest of the world use, including miost of the Commonwealth too. Catch up people, join in iwht the rest of the world!
Is there update on the completion of the A90 Stonehaven roadworks ??
Unfortunately no. I am as much in the dark as everybody else. The AWPR team keep such information very much to themselves. Surely not that long now?
Why is anyone arguing about kilometres or miles? For goodness sake.
How about actual completion date for this farce.
The AWPR senior staff consistently will not commit themselves to a completion date. The other day the Evening Express reported it should be open in the spring.
Is it actually the case that the main contractors are not obliged to provide the community with their planning schedules ?
Do the local/Aberdeen governance have nothing to say as to the pain inflicted daily on those commuting ?
If they are, they have managed to avoid doing so in any great depth since the project began.
Does the liquidation of Carillion, one of the large contractors involved in the AWPR, affect the completion and/or cost of the road? Perhaps this collapse goes some way to explaining the lack of information about the anticipated completion and also the delay in the Cost To Completion survey?
As far as I am aware, the project will be taken forward by the two remaining partners in the venture partnership. This should not affect the cost but whether it results in any delay I don’t know. The Scottish Government has been making reassuring statements which should help. I have not heard of the Cost to Completion survey.
Great more bad news. Since 27th December 2017 I have noticed a sharp decline in workers on the A90 south. It’s at the point I don’t see any now at nights (5pm). We keep being reassured that there’s no intention of them pulling out of completions but how are they supposed to continue with zero cash flow. Equally how are Balford Betty and other partners supposed to continue without disruption. There only telling us the road users what we want to hear because the truth is no one really knows what’s next for the AWPR and the current states these roads had been left in. Sitting in 2-3 miles tailbacks for almost two years now and there’s no finishing line in sight.
You are right. However Economy Secretary Keith Brown has said the Scottish Government had been “working to manage or eliminate risks associated with Carillion’s difficulties” since July last year, and he expects work on the AWPR to continue. That’s fine and dandy, but every time I drive through the Charleston junction I rarely see many people working there.
Keith Brown may have said the Scottish government were “working to manage or eliminate risks” but if they have known since July that Carillion were possibly going to collapse then I’m disappointed. The sentence “He expects work on the AWPR to continue” doesn’t fill me with reassurance either. Fell sorry for the sub contracts like Balford Betty etc as this will now be dumped at there doorstep end up costing them millions more and possibly drive there company into the ground as a result. It will obviously be finished but the next couple of months will be testing for all parties involved I’ll be keeping an eye on the roads. Stonehaven A90 I suspect we will be sitting in tailbacks a while yet now.
Indeed so. By the way, Aberdeen Roads Limited – the consortium building the road – is a joint venture by Balfour Beatty, Morrison Construction and Carillion. Testing times for all, as you say. Meanwhile the tailbacks at Stonehaven continue.
Keith Brown is a halfwit. Why will the senior halfwits involved in this project not commit to a completion date? my suspicion is it will be late 2018 or even 2019 before it is fully open. A very poorly managed civil engineering project.
you think that’s bad?. I travel on the stretch from Balmedie to Tipperty which was – let us not forget – alleged to be the first part to be opened in the ‘Spring of 2017’. I now believe it will be the last part to open – and judging by the lack of anything happening on that stretch I can well believe it, as I suspect that (which was the shortest stretch of them all) looks like at least 6 months away from completion.
If there are penalty clauses involved – which you would hope there are – then as previous comments have said – the burden now falls on the remaining contractors to finish this, no doubt costing them a fortune
Rumour has it that large numbers of personnel had no experience of civil engineering and the majority came from outside the UK.
The disruption caused by the roadworks is
really not acceptable.
I travel South regularly and subsequently have to sit in tailbacks.
Surprised there hasn’t been more accidents as outside the average speed areas very few adhere to the 50mph limit.
The limit is there for a reason!
Travelling in to Aberdeen early each morning is a nightmare but necessary.
Can the Scottish Government not source Scottish firms to complete this disaster?
A large percentage of the workforce did indeed come from elsewhere in the EU as the UK did not have sufficient trained personnel. AWPR senior managers confirmed that this was the case at public meetings. Whether they all had appropriate experience I cannot say!
The Scottish Government has made statements saying that everything will be completed as planned by the two remaining contractors in the Aberdeen Roads Ltd consortium. We will see. But then we never knew precisely when it was due to be ready, with official statements talking about winter 2017/18.
I have scoured the internet for information on when the Ellon / Balmedie carriageway will actually be completed. There is nothing I can find for a date of completion. I realise there will be disruption on any roadworks but this is going on and on and on and on, with no end in sight.
Please, a completion date will be nice!