Early opening for parts of AWPR

Some sections of a controversial city bypass will be completed early, transport bosses have announced.

The Scottish Government said the airport junctions and Balmedie sections of the Aberdeen bypass will be delivered ahead of schedule.

The Craibstone and Dyce junctions at the airport will now open by autumn 2016, while the Balmedie-Tipperty section is expected to be finished by spring 2017.

Work on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route had been held up by a legal challenge and the project was due to be completed in spring of 2018, but Infrastructure, Investment and Cities Secretary Keith Brown announced last month that it will now be finished in the winter of 2017.

When completed, the new road will carry traffic 28 miles around the city. The construction project includes a second road from Stonehaven in the south and the dualling of the A90 between Balmedie and Tipperty in the north.

Mr Brown said: The Scottish Government is investing nearly £1 billion to bring the transport network in the north east up to 21st century standards, and we are determined to alleviate the congestion we see on the roads in and around Aberdeen on a daily basis. The scheme will bring around £6 billion worth of benefits and 14,000 jobs to the north-east economy, and we want these benefits felt as soon as possible.

That is why we have brought forward the completion date of the Aberdeen bypass to winter 2017, with a promise to press for a deal to bring forward other key sections of the scheme too.

I can confirm today our intention that the Craibstone and Dyce junctions are now expected to finish by autumn 2016, and the Balmedie-Tipperty section by spring 2017.

This good news will allow local plans in the Dyce Drive areas around the airport to be taken forward with certainty, and bring much needed relief to drivers accessing Aberdeen from the north of the city on the A90.''