One of Aberdeen’s key congestion-busting schemes will take a long-awaited step forward next week.
Plans will finally be submitted by the city council for permission to push ahead with the Berryden Corridor Improvement Project.
The most recent financial appraisal valued the scheme, which has been in the making for decades, at £26.4 million.
If approved, a new section of road would be built between Ashgrove Road and the Kittybrewster roundabout, at the meeting of St Machar Drive and Great Northern Road.
It would be the only roundabout to remain on the new, wider road, with all others to be replaced by traffic lights.
The dual carriageway would be expected to ease traffic woes on Berryden Road, currently the location for significant congestion and delays at peak times.
It was hoped motorists would already be driving on the road but delays in the council’s purchase of necessary land has slowed progress.
A council spokeswoman said around 100 plots of land that must be secured before the route can be built are still to be bought.
Around 80% of the land needed for the dual carriageway is already owned or under the control of the local authority, she added.
Compulsory purchase orders were first issued by the council in 2018.
A year earlier, ground investigations were carried out along the proposed route and a number of disused garages were demolished in Powis Terrace.
Aberdeen City Council transport spokeswoman, Sandra Macdonald, said: “This is a significant development for the Berryden Corridor Improvement Project and is to be welcomed.
“The new road layout will improve the efficiency of the road, cycleway and pavement network, relieve congestion and improve infrastructure locally for walking and cycling.
“We’d ask the local community and people who drive or cycle in the area to examine the planning application and take part in the formal process.”
Following public exhibitions and consultations, the plans were adjusted to make more space for cyclists and pedestrians.
It is hoped the traffic light junctions, in place of roundabouts on Berryden Road and Skene Square, will make crossing the busy road easier too, encouraging more people to leave their cars at home.