Transport in Aberdeen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- see also Aberdeen
- for walkways in Aberdeen see Green Spaces and Walkways in Aberdeen
- for future transport infrastructure see Future Developments in Aberdeen
The network of Transportation in Aberdeen, is widespread and complex like that of any major city. It is currently receiving the attention of politicians in Scotland who have acknowledged that the has been underinvestment over the past few decades in keeping the infrastructure in line with the needs of the city.
As an ancient city, Aberdeen has some beautiful infrastructure feature such as the Brig o' Balgownie and the Bridge of Dee. Like any other city, the advent of cars have however seen the creation of less beautiful infrastructure such as the Anderson Drive dual carriageway and the Haudagan Roundabout which sees constant tailbacks.
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[edit] Airport and Heliport
Aberdeen Airport, in the neighbouring town of Dyce, serves European destinations for passenger and freight flights and is the second largest helicopter terminal in the world (Houston, Texas being the biggest), serving the many North Sea oil installations. The IATA airport code for the airport is ABZ.
[edit] Bridges
[edit] River Dee Crossings
The river Dee is crossed by a number of bridges, from east to west:
- Victoria Bridge
- Queen Elizabeth Bridge
- Wellington Suspension Bridge
- Railway bridge
- King George VI Bridge
- Bridge of Dee
- St. Devenick's Bridge
- Maryculter Bridge
The Bridge of Dee was until 1832, the only access to the city from the south. It consists of seven semicircular ribbed arches, is about 30 ft (10 m) high, and was built early in the 16th Century by Bishops Elphinstone and Dunbar. It was nearly all rebuilt 1718-23, and in 1842 was widened from 14 to 26 ft (4 to 8 m). This was the site of a battle in 1639 between the Royalists under Viscount Aboyne and the Covenanters who were led by the Marquis of Montrose. Today the bridge is part of the main A90 road.
St. Devenick's Bridge (locally known as the Shakin' Briggie, Shakkin Briggie, or as Morison's Bridge)crosses the Dee from Ardoe to Cults, was built in 1837 to link the now ruined Banchory Devenick Parish Church, on the south bank of the Dee, with its parishioners, who lived on the north bank. It was officially named St. Devenick's Bridge. The cast-iron pedestrian footbridge was damaged by floods in 1876 and 1920, and was reconstructed in the 1920s. However, due to erosion, the Dee shifted its course in the 1970s and 1980s, sweeping away the southern approach spans, and in 1984 the decking was removed as a safety precation. The bridge is a Category A listed structure and there are plans to restore it.
Maryculter Bridge links the North and South Deeside roads near the village of Maryculter close to the boundary of the council area, the bridge is earmarked for expansion as part of the proposed Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route to bypass the city.
Victoria Bridge was completed in 1887, following a ferry disaster in 1876 which claimed the lives of 32 people returning from a visit to the Bay of Nigg.[1] It was made possible by the 1871 channelling of the river Dee which had previously followed an unstable course to the sea. The bridge has facilities for carrying water and gas services across the river.
Queen Elizabeth II Bridge opened in 1983.
Wellington Suspension Bridge is very narrow and was designed by Captain Samuel Brown and opened in 1831 to replace the Craiglug ferry. Refurbished in 1930, the Category A listed building was closed to vehicular traffic in 1984 and to pedestrians in March 2002. Aberdeen City Council engineers have plans to strengthen and preserve the bridge to reopen it as a public footbridge.[2][3]
[edit] River Don Crossings
The river Dee is crossed by a number of bridges, from east to west:
- Bridge of Don
- Brig o' Balgownie
- Grandholm Bridge
- Persley Bridge
The Bridge of Don has five granite arches, each 75 ft (23 m) in span, and was built 1827-1832. A little to the west is the Auld Brig o' Balgownie, a picturesque single arch spanning the deep black stream, said to have been built by King Robert I, and celebrated by George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron in the tenth canto of "Don Juan". It is closed to motor vehicles. The Grandholm Bridge is a private bridge, constructed for the Crombie Mills in the 1920s. Access to the bridge, other than for pedestrians and bicycles, is now controlled by an electronically activated barrier, passes for which are made available to residents of the housing development constructed on the site of the mills in 2004.
The A90 road north uses Persley Bridge.
[edit] Buses
City buses in Aberdeen are operated by First Group (whose headquarters are in the city) and also Stagecoach Group. First Aberdeen have the largest share of routes in the city with 22 services running throughout the city.
Stagecoach operate routes to outlying Aberdeenshire areas, picking up customers within the city to these areas. Routes such as the Coast Rider, (running between Montrose; Stonehaven; Newtonhill; Portlethen and Aberdeen are popular, especially during rush hour with commuters working in the city.
[edit] Harbour
- see also: Aberdeen Harbour, Hong Kong, named after Aberdeen Harbour, Scotland.
Aberdeen Harbour was the first publicly limited company in the United Kingdom and is today the the principal commercial port in northern Scotland and an international port for general cargo, roll-on/roll-off and container traffic. The harbour serves Northlink Ferries, which sail to Kirkwall and the Shetland Islands.
Originally, the defective harbour, with a shallow sand and gravel bar at its entrance, retarded the trade of Aberdeen, but under various acts since 1773 it was greatly deepened.
By the Harbour Act of 1868, the river Dee near the harbour was diverted from the south at a cost of £80,000, and 90 acres (364,000 m²) of new ground, in addition to 25 acres (101,000 m²) formerly made up, were provided on the north side of the river for the Albert Basin (with a graving dock), quays and warehouses. A 1050 ft (320 m) long concrete breakwater was constructed on the south side of the stream as a protection against south-easterly gales. On Girdleness, the southern point of the bay, a lighthouse was built in 1833.
The North Pier, built partly by John Smeaton 1775-81, and partly by Thomas Telford 1810-15, extends nearly 3,000 ft (1000 m) into the North Sea and raised the bar.
Victoria Dock, named in honour of the queen's visit to the city in that year, is a wet dock of 29 acres (117,000 m²) and with 6000 ft (1800 m) of quay, was completed in 1848
Upper Dock adjoins Victoria Dock.
[edit] Railway
The city is well served by the national railway network. Aberdeen Joint Station has regular rail services to Glasgow and Edinburgh as well as long distance trains to London. Regular trains also run north westerly towards Inverness and north to Dyce for the airport. The Deeside Railway which ran west of the city to Ballater opened in 1853 but the Beeching Report led to the closure of the line in 1966. The line is now a popular walk and cycle route, the Deeside Way.
[edit] Roads
There are five main roads into and out of the city:
- The A90 is the main arterial route into the city from the North and South, linking Aberdeen to Edinburgh, Dundee and Perth in the South and Ellon, Peterhead and Fraserburgh in the north.
- The A96 links to Elgin and Inverness and the North West.
- The A93 is the main route to the West, heading towards Royal Deeside and the Cairngorms. After Braemar, it turns south, providing an alternative tourist route to Perth.
- The A92 was the original southerly road to Aberdeen prior to the building of the A90, and is now used as a tourist route, connecting the towns of Montrose, Arbroath and Brechin on the east coast.
- The A947 exits the city at Dyce and goes on to Newmachar, Oldmeldrum and Turriff finally ending at Banff
The city's original ring road, Anderson Drive, was built in the 1930s but has long since been engulfed by the sprawling expansion of the city, and is inadequate for dealing with today's traffic. To this end, a new main bypass road, the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, is proposed to divert through traffic away from the city centre. The road is expected to open in 2010.
[edit] Trams
The last tram ran on May 3, 1958. All but one were then scrapped; the last is on display in the Grampian Transport Museum at Alford, Aberdeenshire.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ W. Hamish Fraser and Clive H. Lee (2000). Aberdeen 1800-2000 A New History. Aberdeen: Tuckwell Press. ISBN 1-86232-108-6.
- ^ Frank Urquhart. 175-year-old bridge to get new lease of life. Retrieved on August 30, 2007.
- ^ Wellington Suspension Bridge. Retrieved on August 30, 2007.
