Building Briefs – January 10th

• Laurencekirk junction improvement plans on public display

The plans include a new “full diamond” grade-separated junction layout which carries the realigned A937 over the A90 at the south junction and provides slip roads to and from the A90 dual carriageway for both northbound and southbound traffic.

The scheme also includes shared routes suitable for Non-Motorised Users (NMUs) such as pedestrians and cyclists, from Laurencekirk over the A90 on the A937, as well as parallel to the A90 southbound side to the B9120.

• Aberdeen’s Union Terrace set for one-way traffic as flagship project progresses

Union Terrace in Aberdeen is to become one-way to traffic for a temporary period to allow work on the regeneration of Union Terrace Gardens (UTG) to advance.

From January 27, traffic will be permitted to travel northbound from Union Street to Rosemount Viaduct, with the restriction expected to be in place until mid-November.

A one-way system is needed to maintain a safe working environment during this phase of the programme, which includes balustrade strengthening, the replacement of the existing arches (which run under the road), slab reinforcement and resurfacing.

Union Terrace Gardens will feature new entrances, pavilions and walkways, flexible events space, sympathetic landscaping, a greater number and variety of trees, bespoke lighting, and the restoration of the Victorian toilets as well as the Union Terrace arches.

Contractor Balfour Beatty has been appointed to deliver the £25.7 million flagship City Centre Masterplan (CCMP) project. UTG is scheduled to re-open in Summer 2021.

• Scottish Government reveals full fibre broadband roll-out plan to 2023

The Scottish Government will fail to deliver universal superfast broadband to domestic and non-domestic premises by the end of 2021, it confirmed yesterday.

In a statement delivered to parliament yesterday, minister for connectivity Paul Wheelhouse said the roll-out of the Scottish Government’s Reaching 100% Broadband (R100) programme will now be complete in 2023.

However, Mr Wheelhouse added that the roll-out of future-proofed full fibre broadband means many of the premises which will benefit from the R100 programme will now be able to access speeds of up to 1,000 megabits per second instead of the 30 megabits originally proposed.

Any properties which are not targeted through the contracts, or will benefit through contracts after 2021, will be eligible for the Scottish Government’s voucher scheme to ensure all premises have access to superfast by the end of 2021.

The scheme will allow people to obtain superfast broadband from other sources, from satellite operators to fixed wireless/mobile operators and larger fibre suppliers, ensuring superfast access for all premises in the agreed timescale

• Views sought on foundation apprenticeships and civil engineering framework

CECA Scotland in partnership with Skills Development Scotland are seeking views to inform Foundation Apprenticeships and the possible future developments of the Civil Engineering framework.

The input of CECA Scotland members in this process will help ensure the framework can be adapted to better meet the needs of businesses of all sizes in the Scottish civils sector.

To achieve this, we are asking CECA Scotland members to take ten minutes to complete a short questionnaire.

The responses will be used by Skills Development Scotland to further develop and improve the Foundation Apprenticeship programme.

Complete the survey here.

The deadline for responses is Monday 13th January 2020 at 5pm.

• Dundee set for West End car park improvements

Works to improve a Dundee car park are set to get underway later this month.

The facility at Roseangle will get new lighting and have a pair of meters installed ahead of charges being introduced at seven West End car parks on January 27.

The works will mean that the Roseangle car park will be closed to all vehicles from Monday January 20 for up to five days.

Drivers are being asked to ensure that any vehicles parked there are removed by 8am on that date as the work carried out by Tayside Contracts gets underway.

• Dundee transport museum wins funding for tram depot revamp plans

Dundee Museum of Transport has won funding for two new posts as part of its plans to reinvent itself in a new venue.

Proposals to convert the former Maryfield Tram Depot into the museum’s new home are progressing, with pre-planning discussions under way and a public consultation due to take place throughout 2020.

• Work begins on public transport works in Argyll and Bute

Argyll and Bute Council has announced that work is under way to improve access at bus stops and replace some bus shelters in the Helensburgh and Lomond area.

Work will be carried out by the council supported by £100,000 funding from Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT).

The main focus of the work is improving access to bus stops, within the Rosneath Peninsula, from Coulport to Garelochhead. This involves making sure that there is hard-standing and dropped kerbs at both sides of the road to make sure that all the stops are fully compliant.

Some stops will be given new poles and flags. There will be a new bus shelter at Garelochhead and some others on the route will be upgraded. Where stops have been moved, consideration has been given to home owners and the placements have been done as sensitively as possible.

The second part of the project is to improve access to stops within Helensburgh and add four new bus shelters at locations where there is demand.

New shelters will not be the traditional Argyll and Bute Council blue. The new silver, powder coated shelters will take less maintenance and can be upgraded with lighting and solar power, so are future proofed.

The project should be complete in early spring.