Contact & Education Space for AWPR/B-T officially opened

Seven new modern apprentices were welcomed by Derek MacKay, Minister for Transport and Islands, to the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route / Balmedie to Tipperty (AWPR/B-T), as he officially opened the project’s Contact and Education Space.

Joining the Minister at the official opening of the Contact and Education Space was Councillor Jenny Laing, Council Leader for Aberdeen City Council and Co-Leaders for Aberdeenshire Council, Councillor Richard Thomson and Councillor Martin Kitt-Hayes.

Mr Mackay said: “There has been an enormous amount of interest from across the north east about the AWPR/B-T and this Contact and Education Space will give local communities, residents, road users and businesses the opportunity to speak directly with the people tasked with delivering this critical infrastructure project.

“The ‘Space’ will provide a wealth of information about the road. For instance, you can find out about the variety of environmental mitigation techniques used across the 58km project, how we aim to keep children who live near this building site safe and how we encourage school leavers to consider careers in construction and much more.

“The AWPR/B-T is itself providing seven new modern apprentices, all from Northfield Academy, with a tremendous opportunity to be involved with such a large-scale infrastructure project so early in their careers.

“The experiences they have on this project creates an opportunity to build the leaders of the construction industry of the future. I wish them the very best of luck in their current roles and hope they take full advantage of this opportunity to make a long and rewarding career for themselves.

“The project, which is progressing well, will have a long-lasting legacy for the whole of the north east. Over the next 30 years, it will generate over £6Bn in additional income by reducing costs to business, providing opportunities for increased sales and generating 14,000 jobs.”

Thomas Smith, aged 17 from Aberdeen, is one of the seven new apprentices. He said: “I began thinking about a career in construction two years ago after taking part in a summer scholarship through Northfield Academy, so to be part of the construction of the AWPR/B-T is an amazing experience for me.

“Every day is different and there are lots of opportunities to try something new, particularly in structural engineering. We look after the construction of bridges for the project and are very busy.”

The Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route / Balmedie to Tipperty scheme is a major transport infrastructure project that is expected to bring substantial benefits to the whole of the north east of Scotland. This includes reducing congestion, improving journey times, reducing pollution in the city centre, boosting the economy, improving road safety and enhancing public transport.

The project is being delivered by Transport Scotland, the national transport agency, on behalf of the Scottish Government and in partnership with Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council.

The AWPR/B-T is expected to be completed in winter 2017 with the Craibstone and Dyce Junctions scheduled to open by Autumn 2016 and the Balmedie to Tipperty section by Spring 2017.

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