Aberdeen's Haudagain bottleneck improved 16 years after first plans

Improvements to help the roundabout were unveiled on Monday

Almost 16 years after initial plans went on show to the public, a new road to relieve congestion at Aberdeen's notorious Haudagain roundabout has finally opened.

Proposals to tackle the bottleneck - at the meeting point of what was then the A90 trunk road with the A96 - were first put on display in July 2006.

Only after the Aberdeen bypass had been completed could work begin in earnest.

The new-look £49.5m road was officially opened on Monday.

Hundreds of council flats in the Logie area were demolished to make way for the new road.

The contract for the work at the bottleneck was awarded in January 2019.

• Aberdeen's long and winding road

It was initially due to be ready last spring, but in December the project was put back to the end of March, before later being postponed again.

Adverse weather, Covid absences and supply-chain issues were blamed for the delays.

The Haudagain roundabout has been a traffic bottleneck for years

A new dual carriageway was formally opened on Monday morning by Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth, and traffic was allowed to use it from Monday afternoon after final inspections were made.

"It has been just over three years since construction work began on this key improvement for Aberdeen and later today the public will be able to travel along it for the first time," she said.

"The new dual carriageway will help tackle the congestion caused by the traffic bottleneck at the Haudagain roundabout and deliver significant benefits including improving journey time for road users and public transport."

She added: "I know there have been delays to the completion of this project, which has been understandably frustrating for the local community."