Aberdeen's traffic nightmare: When will it end?

Travelling by car in Aberdeen right now is an experience that can drive almost anyone around the bend.

Months-long road closures, one-way systems and no-go zones for drivers have resulted in key sections of the city’s roads network being gridlocked at peak times.

Although the end dates for some of the biggest roadworks projects are finally approaching, there are even more restrictions on the horizon for Aberdeen drivers.

Here’s when you can expect some of the worst traffic problems to ease, and when new rules on where you can and can’t drive your car are expected to come into force.

When will Aberdeen traffic misery end around Bridge of Dee and the King George VI bridge?

Congestion and roadworks around the King George VI bridge and the Bridge of Dee. — Drivers have had to deal with months of congestion around the King George VI bridge and the Bridge of Dee. Picture taken on May 8, 2023. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson.

Ever since March, the roads around the Garthdee, Duthie Park, Kincorth and Riverside Drive areas have been almost endlessly filled with traffic jams.

Major £330,000 works on the King George VI bridge, which include resurfacing and waterproofing the B-listed structure, started on March 14.

The extensive project is being carried out in two phases, with a one-way system in force on the bridge running in tandem with another one-way system in the other direction on the nearby Bridge of Dee.

In the first phase, this meant drivers could only go southbound on the King George VI Bridge, and northbound over the Bridge of Dee.

But last week, this swapped around for phase two.

Major tailback between King George VI bridge and the Bridge of Dee. — A major tailback between the two bridges. Picture taken on May 10, 2023. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson.

Motorists can currently only travel northbound on the King George VI Bridge towards Duthie Park, and southbound on the Bridge of Dee towards Dundee.

The impact on Aberdeen’s roads network from the works has been significant.

It has led to traffic backing up Great Southern Road to the police station roundabout and beyond on some days.

Congestion on Great Southern Road. Image: Chris Sumner/DC Thomson.

And in Garthdee, it’s resulted in queues far up the A92 South Anderson Drive road.

The chaos hasn’t just affected drivers.

Traffic queueing back up Aberdeen's South Anderson Drive. — Traffic queueing back up South Anderson Drive. Picture taken on April 9, 2023. Image: Wullie Marr / DC Thomson.

Public transport travellers using buses have also had to deal with huge delays.

The council says the roads in the area should be returning to normal once the resurfacing and waterproofing work on the King George VI bridge is finished.

It expects this will be “late” June, but this “will be dependent on what is found in phase two of the works”.

So, the long-awaited grand reopening could be pushed back even further… and it has already being delayed by three weeks.

In the meantime, the council has recommended people wishing to avoid getting stuck in queues to use alternative routes.

These suggestions include taking the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, (which isn’t a lot of use if you live centrally in Aberdeen), Victoria Bridge which links Market Street to Torry, or the Queen Elizabeth Bridge near the BP Roundabout at the end of South College Street.

Speaking of South College Street…

How is progress on the South College Street roadworks?

A view down South College Street, where roadworks have been ongoing since last June. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson, May 16, 2023.

The Aberdeen traffic problems created by the refurbishments of the King George VI bridge have been compounded by the ongoing and extensive works on the nearby South College Street Junction Improvements scheme.

Plans to improve traffic flow along the busy roads and surrounding areas had been on the cards since 2004, but it wasn’t until last June that work actually commenced on site.

The main changes being worked on include:

Another traffic lane along South College Street from Bank Street to Wellington Place
Another lane on Palmerston Place
A new traffic signal-controlled junction between Palmerston Place and North Esplanade West
Changes to parking and loading areas on South College Street from
Millburn Street to Riverside Drive
Alterations at the existing traffic light-controlled junctions between South College Street and Wellington Place, as well as the one further south between South College Street, Millburn Street and Palmerstone Place, which include new approach lanes.

While the works have been going on, drivers have been forced to deal with all sorts of frustrating diversions.

Lengthy traffic queueing up on a diversion route created for the South College Street project. Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson.

Without South College Street being available, nearby roads like Riverside Drive, (already feeling the strain due to the King George VI bridge restrictions), have had lengthy queues forming in rush hour periods.

And recently, there have been one-way systems in place on Riverside Drive for the project, creating even further headaches.

It’s also led to big tailbacks due to works along North Esplanade West.

The grand plan was to fully open in spring 2023, but summer is just around the corner and work is still very much ongoing in the area.

An artist's impression of what South College Street will look like once the project is finished, looking south from the Palmerston Place junction. — An artist’s impression of what the street will look like once the project is finished, looking south from the Palmerston Place junction. Image: Aberdeen City Council.

Aberdeen City Council previously said this timetable “depends on factors including availability of materials”, and also stressed it was “weather dependent”.

The contractor WM Donald’s website has been providing occasional updates on the project, including what road closures are required where and when.

It currently includes details of various closures up to and including June 12.

Roadworks at South College Street. — Although there has been a great deal of progress at the South College Street project, there’s still work to do. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson, May 16 2023.

According to a recent council document, “works are progressing and the substantial completion date is still expected too be spring 2023”.

However, it might be the case that not all roads will be ready for this “substantial completion date”.

This includes the extra left turn lane on Palmerston Place.

The council report says it’s “likely” that this won’t be “brought into use until late summer”.

Council officers say “the majority of the project roads” should open on time.

But even more Aberdeen traffic headaches like bus gates and local access only zones on the horizon…

A map of planned changes to the road network in Aberdeen. Key changes, like the introduction of new bus gates, have been significantly delayed. Images: Aberdeen City Council/DC Thomson.

Yet another huge Aberdeen traffic which was originally planned to be rolled out alongside the South College Street works was the introduction of a new bus priority route through the city centre.

This project will include the likes of new bus gates on Bridge Street, Market Street and Guild Street, and local access only zones on roads like Windmill Brae and Trinity Street.

A section of Guild Street in Aberdeen which will be closed off with a new bus gate. — New bus gates are coming to Guild Street, just around the corner from South College Street. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson.

It’s designed to encourage more people to use buses by reducing the volume of general traffic in the city centre, and improving bus journey times.

The first big change to make way for this new priority route was rolled out just before Christmas, when the straight-ahead lane from Trinity Quay onto Guild Street was shut.

The straight-ahead lane from Trinity Quay onto Guild Street, which was closed off in December. — Drivers were banned from driving through the straight-ahead lane from Trinity Quay onto Guild Street in December. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson.

The rest of the new restrictions were due to start in January.

But, in February, the council officially pushed this date back by several months to “late spring”.

The local authority said the new bus gates for Guild, Bridge and Market Street were “delayed due to winter weather conditions” in the typically wintry months of December and January.

The council also said at the time that it did not intend to proceed with the rest of the bus priority route measures until “the south college Street Improvement Project has finished in late spring”.

You can find out more about the new traffic restrictions, and how you can navigate them to avoid a fine once they come into force, here.