Major Aberdeen road scheme progresses

A consortium featuring Carillion, Balfour Beatty and Galliford Try has reached a financial close on the £550 million (€691 million) Aberdeen Western Peripheral road scheme.

Totalling 58km, the project running between Balmedie and Tipperty in Scotland, UK, is being overseen by Transport Scotland and will be managed for 30 years by the joint-venture group.

The consortium, which is now known as Aberdeen Roads Limited, has been appointed to design and deliver the plans – with the new roads forecast to carry around 43,000 vehicles a day.

It was originally awarded in June, comprising 46km of dual carriageway, 40km of new side roads and a further 30km of access road development.

There had been a public inquiry into the project, which has been created to enhance road access to the north east of Scotland to increase its competitiveness as a business location.

Construction work is expected to begin shortly, with a scheduled completion date of 2017.

Carillion chief executive Richard Howson explained the project was the largest of its kind in Scotland to date.

He said, “The project is firmly in line with Carillion's selective approach to construction, namely of focusing on large, high quality projects, notably those involving integrated solutions.

“We look forward to working closely with Transport Scotland, Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council to deliver this major improvement to the transport network."