Welcome

The Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) is a new road being developed to improve travel in and around Aberdeen and the North-east of Scotland. When completed it will bring many benefits to the area – economic, environmental and road safety.

The road is a priority for the Scottish Government and is being developed by Transport Scotland - the national transport agency - in partnership with Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils.

The AWPR has been the subject of a series of legal challenges since 2010 which have held up the start of this vital road for the north east of Scotland.

However, the UK Supreme Court has now given the go ahead for the road – the judgement can be viewed via the link on the right of this page.

The AWPR is one of a number of transport projects planned to help improve road safety and accessibility, reduce congestion and grow the local economy - ensuring the North East remains a competitive business location.

These include the A90 Balmedie-Tipperty dualling scheme which is being developed by Transport Scotland. Further information is available by clicking the "Balmedie-Tipperty" tab the top of this page.

The AWPR is now to be taken forward with the A90 Balmedie-Tipperty scheme under one Non-Profit Distributing (NPD) model form of contract to ensure value for money.

You can view the AWPR / Balmedie-Tipperty project map via the link on the right of this page.

Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision:

“The decision by the Supreme Court is a just ruling for the north east of Scotland that marks the end of five incredibly frustrating years for the vast majority of people who are behind this ambitious project.

“Over the next three decades, the AWPR and the Balmedie to Tipperty road schemes are expected to bring in an additional £6 billion to the local economy, creating around 14,000 new jobs. It is therefore crucial that we crack on and deliver these vital and frankly long overdue infrastructure projects.

“The minority who have held up the AWPR have had many days in court – not to mention a protracted public local inquiry – and they have lost on every occasion. Now that their challenge has come to an end, our focus is now to move on from these unwanted legal problems and make quick progress for the people of the north east – they have waited long enough.

“Work will now proceed apace, and I am delighted to announce that a prior information notice signalling the start of procurement for the project will be published in the coming days with investigative drilling set to begin on site next month. We anticipate that this long-awaited project will be underway in 2014 and complete by the spring of 2018.

“Quite clearly, these unwanted delays will result in a substantial increase in the overall cost of this project, but its value to the north east and wider Scottish economy is such that it must go ahead. Work will now begin to quantify the total project costs and we will update Parliament with revised figures as soon as possible.

“When it is finished, the AWPR/Balmedie-Tipperty project will bring economic, environmental and road safety benefits to the area as well as improving the integration of public transport and access to Aberdeen. The time for debate is over, let’s deliver a project for the people of the north east that will make us all proud.”

Working in partnership with Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council
on behalf of Transport Scotland.