Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route

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This article contains information about a planned or expected future road.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the road's construction or completion approaches and more information becomes available.

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Milltimber Bridge in the centre of this picture, where the road will cross the river Dee

Aberdeen Greenbelt Alliance protest poster

The Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) is a major infrastructure development proposed to take place on the outskirts of Aberdeen, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The construction has not yet begun but preparations are at the final stages with the last public consultations taking place in early 2007.

It has been particularly supported by NESTRANS the Scottish Executive's planning group for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

The high-speed dual carriageway is projected to cost over £350million and create an alternative route from north to south Aberdeen, bypassing the city. Currently the only dual carriageway route from north to south is through the city itself, along the original 1930s bypass, Anderson Drive. Since that was built, the city has expanded beyond the road considerably.

1 Congestion relief
2 Local economy
3 Controversy
4 External links

[edit] Congestion relief

The proposed development has been 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 itself. There will also be a reduction in the volume of traffic heading towards Aberdeen Airport and the adjacent industrial estate at Dyce.

[edit] Local economy

It is argued by some that the road is important to keep the economy active.^{[citation needed]} However others argue that almost no traffic is attempting to cross the city and a second Aberdeen bypass would do nothing to reduce city congestion. Furthermore it is argued that the costs of this project could exceed initial estimates of £300 million to a final cost of £2.5billon^{[citation needed]} and this money could be far better spent in other infrastructure projects.

[edit] Controversy

The bypass has caused controversy among local people who live along the proposed route. Some of the areas affected are amongst the most expensive in the city and its surrounding area. It will particularly affect the people in Milltimber, Bieldside and Cults.^{[citation needed]}

Certain pressure groups have raised the following concerns against the project:

Lack of necessity: The volume of through-traffic via the city centre may be too low to warrant a bypass.
Breach of Greenbelt: Greenbelt land will be overtaken by the AWPR and reclassified as non-Greenbelt. This could harm endangered species in the area, such as the Red Squirrel.
Property blighting: where any properties which are in sight of the road may lose much of their value.
Large number of properties affected: 5 homes are within 50 meters of the road, 26 between 50 and 100 meters, 78 between 100 and 150 meters and a further 82 between 150 and 200 meters. These will either be demolished or affected by the developments close proximity.
Cost spiral: being a government project, of significant scale, residents are concerned that costs could overrun to high levels.