Mid-Formartine Councillors Welcome Balmedie-Tipperty Progress

Milestone Underlines Scottish Government Commitment to North-east Roads
A contract worth more than half a million pounds has been awarded which will allow ground investigation work for a key North-east road scheme to start, Transport Minister, Keith Brown has announced.

The Balmedie to Tipperty scheme, which will see construction of around 5 miles of dual carriageway on a section of the A90 between Aberdeen and Ellon, is a vital strategic route and the ground investigations to be carried out by Soil Mechanics will ensure that the scheme is brought up to the same level of readiness as the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR).

Mr Brown said:

“The dualling scheme of the Balmedie-Tipperty section of the A90 will alleviate the bottleneck caused by the existing single carriageway resulting in improved and more reliable journey times and enhanced safety for road users.

“The £580,000 we have made available reinforces our commitment to improve both this and other major strategic roads in the north east of Scotland, and I’m delighted this investment will allow our appointed contractors to begin the essential ground investigations work in the coming weeks to ensure the Balmedie-Tipperty scheme is up to the same level of readiness as the AWPR.

“In relation to the AWPR, the Scottish Government remains totally committed to the scheme being completed as soon as possible. Ministers have done everything in their power to progress the appeal hearing as soon as possible and welcome the start of the next stage of the process. We are prepared and ready to defend the appeal so that we can get on and build this much needed road as soon as possible."

Mid-Formartine SNP councillors Allan Hendry and Cryle Shand have welcomed the announcement from the Minister.

Commenting, Cllr Allan Hendry said:

“This is a welcome step in moving on this vital project and the Scottish Government’s reinforced commitment to making this happen is very important. Dualling the link between Balmedie and Tipperty is long-overdue and will help traffic flow more freely both into and out of Aberdeen.”

Cllr Cryle Shand added:

“This is good news but the whole of the North-east remains frustrated by the actions of a selfish minority in delaying the Aberdeen Bypass with endless legal challenges.

“It is right that people should have the opportunity to object to large civil engineering projects and even to have their day in court, but these protestors have had many years in various courts and not one of the judgements have come down in their favour. It is time they accepted they have lost the argument and let the people of the North-east get the bypass their roads network sorely needs.”