Wills Bros Civil Engineering has been awarded a £3.8 million for the replacement of the historic Gairnshiel Bridge to the north of Ballater.

With works due to begin later this month, Aberdeenshire Council has announced the first of a number of traffic restrictions on the A939 Old Military Road in place between Gairnshiel and Torbeg, to enable the contractor to begin setting up on site.

These will be intermittent off-peak road closures on Tuesday, April 19th, Thursday 21st and Friday 22nd.

-- Advertisement --

Closure within the off-peak time (9.30am to 4.30pm) will be kept to a minimum and will be indicated by appropriate signage. Throughout the closures, access will be maintained for pedestrians and cyclists and for local residents and businesses, subject to possible delays.

The existing Grade A-listed structure – built in the mid-1700s – is no longer suitable for modern day traffic and with ever-increasing volumes of vehicles and larger, heavier loads, the bridge has suffered significant damage over many years. However this 'faithful old servant' will be retained for use by non-motorised uses only.

Its new downstream replacement will have two lanes of traffic and will be capable of carrying large goods vehicles.

This modern, yet sympathetic replacement will ensure local residents and visitors alike can continue to enjoy the delights the area has to offer while providing improved journey times and reliability.