The Project
Following the adoption of the Aberdeen City Centre Masterplan, the impact of the proposed changes on the city’s road network was assessed. This identified a number of transport network changes required to support the Masterplan’s ambitions. Improvements as part of the South College Street Junction Project were highlighted as essential to support further public realm and bus priority changes.
With the adoption of a new North East Scotland Roads Hierarchy in 2019 changing access to and around the city, South College Street will have an important role in providing a key route to the city centre.
When complete the project will support the City Centre Masterplan’s infrastructure strategy for bus priority measures aimed at removing the impact of congestion on bus journey times through the city centre. It will also enable public realm enhancements along Guild Street and Union Street, providing alternative options to allow the rerouting of traffic. The project is jointly funded by the Council and a grant from the Scottish Government’s Bus Partnership Fund.
The corridor’s improved capacity and operation will also complement its position in the new roads hierarchy. In tandem the project will enhance infrastructure for walking and cycling. Making these improvements is the next step towards providing a transport network to meet Aberdeen’s needs and city centre aspirations.
A detailed appraisal of the required improvements has been carried out and a preferred option was adopted by the Council in 2017. As the design has progressed further work, including traffic modelling, ensured that the project will perform effectively. In May 2020, the Council resolved to progress a compulsory purchase order to acquire the land necessary to build the project.
The project consists of the following main elements:
- An additional traffic lane along South College Street between Bank Street and the Wellington Place.
- An additional lane on Palmerston Place.
- A new traffic signal controlled junction at the intersection of Palmerston Place and North Esplanade West.
- The alteration of the existing traffic signal-controlled junctions at the South College Street/Wellington Place junction and the South College Street/Millburn Street/Palmerston Place junction adding additional approach lanes and improving operational coordination.
- New and altered walking and cycling infrastructure along the South College Street and Palmerston Place.
- Reconfigured parking and loading areas on South College Street between Millburn Street and Riverside Drive.
Construction and Reopening
In 2022 local company W M Donald was appointed as the main contractor for the project. In July 2023 the majority of the project works were completed with project roads reopened. The final section of the project providing a second left turn lane from Palmerston Place onto North Esplanade West was brought into use in February 2024, following the completion of utility works.
Continuous Shared Cycle Track
The improvements for pedestrians and cyclists along the South College Street corridor include new lengths of segregated and shared use paths along the west side of the route from Riverside Drive to Wellington Place. At the access points to the residential properties on South College Street between Bank Street and Riverside Drive, a continuous path has been built for cyclists and pedestrians.
Advice for road users on how to cross the continuous path is available in the following explanation sheet:
Project Monitoring & Evaluation
Following construction of the civil engineering works on site the Council will be monitoring the performance and use of the project as an improvement to the city’s road network. This will include surveys on site to record data which will be used to analyse user numbers, behaviour and interactions on the altered road network and new street layouts. It is anticipated that the monitoring process will be concluded early in 2024.
Further Project Information
Panels displaying further detail on the project are available to view below:-
Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO)
The use of Compulsory Purchase was necessary to acquire land required to build the project. The order was confirmed by Scottish Ministers in December 2020.
The Council made a General Vesting Declaration in February 2021, taking ownership of the land and rights in land required for the project on 8 April 2021.
You can read the Scottish Government's guide to compulsory purchase and compensation on their website at the link below:
Compulsory purchase in Scotland