Round Up Of 2023

2023 has been a significant year for the Cross Tay Link Road project with multiple milestones reached across many areas of the build. Here are our top five highlights:

• The newly realigned section of the A9 opened on 3 August, ahead of time, allowing the Gran Fondo World Championships to take place on a 164 mile route through Perthshire.
• Opening of a section of the new link road between Stormontfield and the A93 opened in September, giving motorists and active travel users a more direct, and safer, route.
• Construction of both east and west abutments on Destiny Bridge are now complete, and the initial elements of the superstructure has commenced.
• The Green Bridge structure is substantially complete, with landscaping and access paths now well underway.
• Three of four roundabouts are now open to traffic; Stormontfield, the A93 and the A94.

New Kingsway

It has been a busy summer and autumn on the Link Road with a significant portion of the surfacing now completed. The roundabouts at Stormontfield, the A93 and the A94 opened to traffic in the recent months with some minor works (signs, street lighting, hard landscaping) remaining.

A section of the Link Road between Stormontfield roundabout and the A93 roundabout was opened for public use in early October. This is facilitating local upgrade works to the existing Stormontfield Road which includes the installation of a new precast box culvert.

Work has also progressed well on the Green Bridge at Highfield. This will allow access across the new road to Highfield Plantation for active travel users and wildlife, thus maintaining connectivity. Access paths leading up to the bridge are well advanced, and landscaping works commenced in November and will run through to spring 2024.

Destiny Bridge

A significant milestone has been reached with commencement of the initial superstructure (hammerhead) on the River Tay bridge. The hammerhead construction, when completed, will
enable the erection of the balanced cantilever form traveller.

The west abutment piling has been completed recently as part of the foundation. Located between the newly realigned A9 and the Highland Railway line, the pile cap (foundation) when completed will facilitate the abutment (end support) construction.

Early in 2024, construction of the initial form traveller deck segment of reinforced steel, high-strength concrete, and post-tensioning cables will commence. A careful construction sequence will ensure that a segment will be constructed on either side of each pier to maintain a perfect balance. The bridge is currently forecast to be completed in 2024.

A9

With the new A9 alignment to the west completed and open since August 2023, the focus moved to the next phase of the works. This includes the completion of ancillary works such as bus-bays, footpaths, and accommodation works. In addition, there has been good progress on earthworks and drainage along the old A9 route.

All culverts are now done, with the recent completion of the Bertha Loch replacement culvert. The earthworks for the new park-and-choose area progressed well despite the recent challenging weather events.

The A9 Overbridge superstructure has also advanced with the abutment backfilling completed and the deck waterproofing commenced. Planning and implementation of enabling works for the next phases has also taken place, including the construction and opening of the new diversion route of the existing cycle path to ensure public safety for both cyclist and pedestrian users.