Aberdeen City Council has announced a public and online exhibition and consultation on the current design proposals for the Aberdeen South Harbour Link Road project.

The proposed route would include a new bridge over the Aberdeen to Dundee railway line, 2.5miles of upgraded road with adjacent walking, cycling, and wheeling from the South Harbour to Wellington Road, and also re-align the Coast Road/Hareness Road junction.

The new re-aligned section of Hareness Road would connect with the Coast Road, north of the existing junction and making this section the main through-route. The Coast Road towards Burnbanks Village and Cove would become a minor side road, at a new junction.

Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Councillor Ian Yuill said: "I hope as many of those who use these roads as possible attend the public exhibition on Monday 15 April and take part in the consultation."

The benefits of the Aberdeen South Harbour Link Road would include:

• Reduce journey times for heavy goods vehicles between Aberdeen South Harbour and the city bypass (AWPR);

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• Reduce the environmental and nuisance impacts of HGV's through Torry and Cove as they move towards the city bypass;

• Improve connectivity for all modes of transport (car, public transport, walking, wheeling, and cycling);

• Improve connectivity between existing and proposed Energy Transition Zone businesses and other energy related businesses in Aberdeen;

• Improve access to Aberdeen South Harbour and proposed ETZ sites for the widest range of abnormal loads possible whilst minimising the impact on residential and business properties, including Torry and Cove.

The project has recently completed the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) Stage 3 Scheme Assessment process where the advantages and disadvantages of the preferred route option were assessed in environmental, engineering, economic and traffic terms.

The project forms part of an overarching £826million funding package for the Aberdeen City Region Deal. Part of this deal is to upgrade the existing transportation links to the recently opened Aberdeen South Harbour. The Aberdeen City Region Deal is a partnership between Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council, Opportunity North East, other regional partners, the private sector, Scottish Government, and UK Government.

The exhibition is being held to show the work completed during the DMRB Stage 3 Scheme Assessment and how the scheme has been updated following feedback on the DMRB Stage 2 Route Option Assessment. There will be further opportunity for people to provide feedback or ask questions.

The drop-in public exhibition is taking place at Torry United Free Church on Grampian Road on Monday 15 April from 11am to 5.30pm. The online exhibition is available at aberdeen-south-harbour-link-road-stage-3-swecouk.hub.arcgis.com/ until 6 May 2024.