Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route

The Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR),[1][2][3][4] unofficially also the Aberdeen bypass,[5][6] was a major infrastructure development on the outskirts of Aberdeen, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Its primary route is designated as part of the A90 road, with the older road of that designation through the city centre renamed the A92, connecting with the AWPR at either end (Stonehaven in the south and Blackdog in the north).

AWPR section of the A90, approaching the A96 junction just outside Aberdeen
Milltimber Bridge in the centre of this picture, where the road crosses the river Dee
Aberdeen Greenbelt Alliance protest poster

First announced in January 2003,[7] it was approved by ministers in late 2009, with costs estimated at £295m-£395m.[8] Construction began on 19 February 2015. The final section opened, exactly four years later, on 19 February 2019.[9]

Previously, the only dual carriageway route from north to south was through the city itself, along the original 1930s bypass, Anderson Drive, which was unsuitable for heavy goods vehicles as they could not cross the Bridge of Dee at its south end. The city had expanded beyond Anderson Drive, and a bypass for Aberdeen was first proposed in 1952. In 2012, following lengthy legal delays, the project was approved. Construction began in February 2015, supported by the two local authorities and by NESTRANS, the statutory Regional Transport Partnership for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. By 2016 the dual carriageway was projected to cost £745 million.[10] The final section opened in February 2019 - later than planned partly due to weather issues, the January 2018 collapse of contractor Carillion, and concrete problems at the River Don crossing. Giving evidence to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee in December 2018, a spokesman for Balfour Beaty agreed that the total cost of the bypass could be "in the area of" £1 billion.[11]

The project also included an upgrade to the dual carriageway of the A90 further north between Balmedie and Tipperty.

Congestion relief

The road was designed to have a positive impact on traffic along routes which are congested during rush hour, particularly Aberdeen's Anderson Drive, King Street and Union Street. Other intentions of this project would be a slight reduction in traffic congestion on the bridges into central Aberdeen, which is sandwiched between the River Dee and the River Don, by reducing heavy goods vehicles that do not need to enter the city. There will also be a reduction in the volume of traffic heading towards Aberdeen Airport, the adjacent industrial estates at Dyce and the new Aberdeen International Business Park. Aberdeen City Council constructed a new six-lane Airport Link Road (ALR) to connect Aberdeen Airport and the business park with the A96 and AWPR, which opened late 2016.

Inquiry

It was argued that the road was important to keep the economy active.[12]

A public local inquiry (PLI) was held in 2008-2009. The PLI recommended adoption of the route[13] and Scottish Ministers approved the route, and it was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 3 March 2010. An appeal was made to the Court of Session based on points including the limited remit of the PLI. The appeal was dismissed[14] and a further appeal was made to the appellate division the "Inner House" of the Court of Session.[15] A yet further appeal was made to the UK Supreme Court. This appeal also failed to overturn the decision to proceed with the route.[16]

Construction

Contract award

On 19 October 2012 a notice was published advising the market that expressions of interest for contractors to construct the route would be made in early 2013 with a view to start construction in late 2014.[17] The initial shortlist of four preferred bidders was reduced to three with the withdrawal of the Scotia Roads Group consortia in September 2013.[18] This left Granite City Roads (Macquarie Capital Group Limited: Vialia; Iridium; Keir Project Investment Limited), North East Roads Partnership (Cintra Infraestructuras, S.A.; John Laing Investments Limited) and Connect Roads (Balfour Beatty Investments Limited; Carillion Private Finance (Transport) Limited; Galliford Try Investments Limited) as the remaining bidders.[19] Keith Brown (Scottish Transport Secretary) also advised that the scheme may open in stages where possible in an effort to relieve existing traffic, with the announcement of the preferred bidder for the contract expected in mid-2014.[20]

The official estimate of the cost of the AWPR was initially £295 - £395 million,[21] although reported figures were in the region of £653 million.[20] Transport Scotland quoted the scheme at £745 million in 2012 prices.[22] Contracts for associated preparation works were announced on the Public Contracts Scotland website.[23]

Contract award was announced on 11 June 2014, with Connect Roads, advised by Pinsent Masons,[24][25] named as the preferred bidder.[26][27] Advance works were already under way, with Scottish Transport Secretary Keith Brown making the announcement of the winning bid from the site of works at Findon Junction.[27][28] A series of public exhibitions around Aberdeen and Shire in June 2014 were also announced by Transport Scotland, to inform the public about progress, advance works, the route and environmental aspects.[29] An £8m "pre-start works agreement" was announced between Transport Scotland and Connect Roads,[30] with the bidder starting fencing, environment surveys and ground investigations ahead of the main works contract commencing later in the year. Other site clearing works and environmental works, such as the relocation of protected badgers, also continued.[31]

Final completion of construction was anticipated in the second half of 2017, about 6 months before the original timescale.[32] The Craibstone interchange was expected to be completed in late 2016 along with the Balmedie to Tipperty section a few months later.[32][33][34][35] Main sub-contracts for the construction phase were published on the Public Contracts Scotland website, with most indicated to begin January 2015.[23][36][37] Transport Scotland also added a current activity page to their AWPR/B-T area, which detailed ongoing works on the project.[38]

Stonehaven campaigners raised concerns over the proposed design for the interchange of the existing A90 dual carriageway and the new Fastlink section of the AWPR. A local farmer offered land for free to support an alternative design for the interchange, but Transport Scotland said changes at this point would add delay and jeopardise the now late-2017 completion date due to road orders and other legal instruments having already been made. They also said the alternative design had been considered and discounted by the design team.[39]

Project mobilisation

Financial close on the project with the winning bidder, now known as Aberdeen Roads Limited, was achieved on 15 December 2014.[40][41][42] It was also announced that lifetime costs for the project (Aberdeen Roads Limited will construct and operate/maintain the route for a period of 30 years) were down by £220m, thanks to innovative new features like a more durable long-life road surface.[43][44] It was also announced that the consortium would be bringing forward the scheduled completion dates for the Craibstone and Dyce Junctions by Autumn 2016 and the Balmedie to Tipperty section by spring 2017, following requests from stakeholders.[45] Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, along with Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure Keith Brown, Aberdeen City Council Leader Councillor Jenny Laing and Leader of Aberdeenshire Council, Cllr Jim Gifford, attended the site at Balmedie on 16 February 2015 to perform the ceremonial ground-breaking and officially kick off the start of the works programme.[46][47][48][49][50]

The main site office was constructed at Stonehaven, with a local firm successfully tendering for and providing the temporary accommodation units.[51][52][53] Clearance works for the Balmedie site office were performed during the official ground breaking ceremony and First Minister visit, with the first overhead line safety systems being erected and Flannery Plant heavy machines preparing for works start.[54] The first major traffic management systems for the works included a new 30 mph limit around the Dyce/Goval/Parkhill area roads,[55] and traffic lights and lane closures on the A93 North Deeside Road at Milltimber Brae during May and June to allow for trial digs and utilities re-routing work.[56][57] Aberdeen Roads Limited published its first Project Update newsletter in Spring 2015, detailing current and future works and traffic management measures.[58]

Project delays and cost overruns
AWPR north of Stonehaven, heading south

Cost overruns on the project were a contributing factor to the January 2018 collapse of Carillion. Connect Roads joint venture partners Balfour Beatty and Galliford Try became jointly liable for additional cash contribution totalling between £60m and £80m; Balfour Beatty estimated a cost of between £35m and £45m,[59] while Galliford Try sought to raise £150m and cut its dividend to support its balance sheet claiming Carillion's collapse had "increased the group's total cash commitments on the project by in excess of £150m".[60] In August 2018, Balfour Beatty said its liabilities on the Aberdeen project had risen by a further £23m and were forecast to reach £135m;[61] in November 2018, Galliford Try said delays would cost an extra £20m, taking its total project hit to £143m.[62]

The first section, a four-mile (7 km) stretch between Parkhill and Blackdog, opened in June 2018,[63] and the Balmedie to Tipperty section opened in August 2018.[64] Carillion's collapse and weather interruptions delayed overall completion of the project; in March 2018, Balfour Beatty said the project would open in late 2018,[65] a date which then slipped to December 2018, partly due to problems involving concrete cladding panels at the River Don crossing.[66][67] In early December 2018, Scottish MSPs heard the final cost of the Aberdeen bypass would exceed £1bn while a 20-mile section of the route would open during the week starting 10 December.[68] The Craibstone to Stonehaven section opened in mid-December but the final 4.5-mile section between Parkhill and Craibstone, including the Don Crossing, was delayed until after Christmas 2018.[69] With the final section still unopened at the end of January 2019, Scottish transport secretary Michael Matheson demanded an urgent meeting with Balfour Beatty and Galliford Try bosses over the continuing delays.[70] The final section opened on 19 February 2019.[9]

In May 2018, Aberdeenshire Council said it would seek compensation from the Balfour Beatty/Galliford Try joint venture for "significant damage" caused to some local roads by transport of thousands of tonnes of materials to the AWPR site.[71]

Following a campaign, in March 2019 a new shared use path was opened allowing users of the Deeside Way to cross the AWPR safely. Despite a route being included in public consultations in 2014, the bypass had opened without a safe path for people using the Deeside Way to cross it.[72]

See also

References
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