Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Aberdeenshire Council to remove objection allowing flyover on A90 at Laurencekirk junction

Members of the community have campaigned for 20 years for the infrastructure project.

The A90 junction at Laurencekirk is notorious for crashes, speeding and near-misses. Image: DC Thomson
The A90 junction at Laurencekirk is notorious for crashes, speeding and near-misses. Image: DC Thomson

A solution to the notorious Laurencekirk junction may be in sight after plans were confirmed to replace a 170-year-old bridge.

Improvement works have been in limbo for years due to objections, but a key hurdle has been cleared, and work could begin on the proposed flyover soon.

The junction between the A90 Aberdeen to Dundee road and the A937 is infamous, with several incidents occurring over the years.

However, there has been a stalemate due to the closure of the nearby Oatyhill Bridge in July 2020 due to “serious concerns over the integrity and strength of the structure”.

Aberdeenshire Council objected to the flyover, as blocking off the existing Oatyhill junction would leave residents with just a single point of access over the now-closed bridge.

An agreement has now been reached to construct a new bridge, clearing the way for the flyover.

‘A huge relief for so many people’

Alan Wood, the council’s environment and infrastructure services director, said: “Throughout this process, we have remained committed to supporting the long-awaited A90 Laurencekirk Junction improvement project and I am delighted that a solution has now been agreed which will see the construction of a new bridge at Oatyhill jointly funded by ourselves and Transport Scotland.

“This verbal arrangement will allow us to progress the formal withdrawal of our technical objection to the closure of the A90 access and this new bridge will provide essential safe access to the properties south of Oatyhill in the future.”

How the proposed flyover would look with plans now able to progress as Aberdeenshire Council withdraw their objection. Image: Paul Reid.

Council leader Mark Findlater said: “This has been a long and arduous process but it has always been this council’s priority to get it done, for the people of Laurencekirk and all those who use this dangerous junction.”

West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP Andrew Bowie has campaigned for this key piece of infrastructure since 2017.

“This long-awaited endorsement by Transport Scotland will be a huge relief for so many people,” he said.

“It’s been the better part of two decades and it simply needs to break ground as soon as possible.”

‘Not one person who uses that junction feels safe’

North-east MSP Tess White paid tribute to the unrelenting commitment to see the project through.

“Not one person who uses that junction feels safe. Near misses occur daily and we’ve all seen the shocking video footage of what can happen on that stretch of road.”

She highlighted the work of Jill Fotheringham who has campaigned for 20 years to have improved safety at the junction.

Jill Fotheringham has been fighting for improvements at the junction for years. Image: DC Thomson.

Ms White continued: “The drive behind this originated with Jill and she has shouldered the burden for the longest time — talking to her, it is obviously her life’s work to see this through.

“Now the Scottish Government are happy to proceed, it’s time for putting down the pens and picking up shovels.”

Conversation