Access From the North Proposals ("Third Don Crossing")
Stage 3 Assessment
These pages describe the current progress of the scheme and include various plans and reports that were produced at this stage of investigation.
Background
Since the 1970's various schemes have been considered for a new crossing over the River Don. At its February 2003 meeting, Aberdeen City Council decided to review these past proposals and identify other alternatives in respect to Access from the North.
A Stage 2 feasibility study was carried out investigating three route corridors crossing the River Don. The purpose of the Stage 2 Assessment was to investigate and compare the three proposed route corridors to establish which option would be the most suitable to progress. The feasibility study involved an Engineering Assessment, Economic Assessment, Environmental Assessment, Traffic Modelling, and a two staged Public Consultation.
At its meeting on 30th June 2004 Aberdeen City Council instructed that Option 1 be progressed to the Stage 3 Assessment. The Stage 3 Assessment was similar to Stage 2 but investigated the preferred line in greater detail.
Work To Date - Stage 3 Assessment
Following Aberdeen City Council's decision to progress Option 1 as the preferred line the following work has been undertaken:
Survey
A topographical survey was carried out to enable a more detailed design of the preferred line.
Ground Investigation
A ground investigation was carried out to establish the soil characteristics of the area, what types of construction may be required as well as the suitability of existing material for re-use within the scheme.
The Ground Investigation determined that, in engineering terms, there were no significant issues with regards to the possible construction of the proposals and the existing ground conditions.
Design
The topographical survey was used to refine the Stage 2 design. This involved the following changes:
Minor alignment changes;
The inclusion of cycle facilities;
Additional lanes at the start and end of the scheme;
Access From The North ("Third Don Crossing") Plan; (*)
Proposed traffic signals at the St Machar Drive / Bedford Road Junction.(*)
(*) To view these drawings it is necessary to download Autodesk Express Viewer (this is free to download).
The design of the proposed bridge was chosen. Please click here to view the Proposed Bridge.
Traffic Modelling and Economic Assessment
More detailed traffic modelling was carried out for the scheme and the surrounding network. This information gave greater insight as to the affects of the proposals as well as indicating what measures would be required to enable traffic using both the proposals and the surrounding network to move efficiently eg proposed traffic signals at the St Machar Drive / Bedford Road junction.
SIAS Traffic Modelling Report (*)
In addition to this model the previous traffic model that was used for the Stage 2 assessment was refined and re-run. The results of this model was also used to measure the economic benefits of the scheme. The modelling suggests that through journey time savings and reductions in distances travelled the proposals give a large economic return.
MVA Traffic Modelling Report (*)
Environmental Assessment
A Stage 3 Environmental Assessment and Environmental Statement were commissioned to identify the impacts on both the natural and built environments. They followed on from the findings of the Stage 2 assessment, looking into the impacts of the proposals in more detail.
Key issues investigated by the Environmental Assessment are Policy, Air Quality, Archaeology and Heritage, Ecology and Nature Conservation, Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment, Land Use, Noise, Pedestrians, Cyclists, Equestrians and Community Effects, Vehicle Travellers and Water Quality, Drainage and Flood Defence.
The Environmental Assessment generally found that, relative to the size of the scheme, there were no major environmental impacts and although there are a number of relatively minor issues many of those can have their impact reduced or removed by suitable mitigation measures. The mitigation measures are detailed within the Environmental Statement.
The following links contain parts of the Environmental Statement which has been split into headings for ease of viewing / downloading.
Main Report (*):
Flysheet and Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - Scheme Description
Chapter 3 - The EIA Process and Environmental Issues
Chapter 4 - Policy Context
Chapter 5 - Air Quality
Chapter 6 - Archaeology & Heritage
Chapter 7 - Landscape & Visual
Chapter 8 - Ecology
Chapter 9 - Land Use
Chapter 10 - Noise & Vibration
Chapter 11 - Pedestrian, Cyclists, etc
Chapter 12 - Vehicle Travellers
Chapter 13 - Water Quality
Geology and SoilsGeology and Soils
Chapter 15 - Mitigation Commitments
Figures:
Figure 7.30 - Landscape Mitigation (*)
Due to the file sizes and associated download times the complete set of figures and appendices are not available on the Web. The full document is available for viewing at the City Development Reception, St Nicholas House, Broad Street, Aberdeen. This document will be available to view from the week commencing 20th March 2006.
STAG Assessment
The Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) Assessment was used to identify objectives for the proposals to meet, problems that the proposals should solve or reduce and problems that the proposals may create. The main themes of investigation are the Environment, Safety, Economy, Integration, Accessibility and Social Inclusion. The STAG methodology was used to investigate the previous options as part of a Part 1 STAG assessment and led to the selection of Option 1 as the preferred option.
A Part 2 STAG assessment was also carried out on the preferred line (Option 1). This investigated the preferred option in more detail than the Part 1 STAG assessment. The STAG report contains an account of the decision making process from the choosing of the preferred line to the decision to progress the preferred line to the planning application process.
STAG Report (February 2006) (*)
The Next Step
On the 26th October 2005 Aberdeen City Council agreed to progress the scheme to the submission of a Notification of Intention to Develop (planning application) as well as preparing for land acquisition.
The Planning Application was submitted in January 2006. Land ownership in the area will also be investigated with a view to preparing to purchase the necessary land to allow the scheme to progress.
Either of these two processes may lead to a public inquiry. If inquires were to be held the actual date of these inquiries would be determined by the Scottish Executive. Any decision to progress the scheme further would occur after the above is completed.
(*) Please note that many of the files on this page are quite large and it may take some time for them to download and open. In the event that you experience any problems please allow several minutes to let the file open.
