WORK on a historic £60million facelift for Aberdeen’s Union Street will get underway within weeks in what is being billed as the biggest upgrade in the street’s 200-year history.
Major works upgrading part of the street to include more pavement space and an entrance for the new market building are to start this month.
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The works to the Union Street Central area – between the Market Street and Bridge Street junctions – will make it more attractive and vibrant while promoting walking and cycling as part of the City Centre and Beach Masterplan.
The works will start on Monday April 29. During the works, access will continue to all shops and businesses for pedestrians, as well as access for delivery vehicles.
Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Councillor Christian Allard said: “The upgrading work to Union Street Central is an opportunity to create attractive new streetscaping which will complement the new market building.
“The works are being carried out using local or Scottish materials which will help the economy as well as help to reinstate the central role of Union Street by making it more attractive.”
Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Councillor Ian Yuill said: “The Union Street Central changes are part of the action being taken to make our city centre more attractive for residents and visitors alike.
“The investment in Union Street central, the new market building, and things such as the Council’s £500,000 Empty Shops Grant Scheme, all have key roles in creating a vibrant and exciting city centre for people to visit, shop, work and spend time.”
The works, which are being carried out by Morrison Construction in parallel to the works being carried out at the new market building, include several mitigations for shops and businesses in the area.
The mitigations include:
- Access to all shops and businesses for pedestrians;
- Access for delivery vehicles;
- One lane east-bound will be available at all times for emergency vehicles, refuse collections, and deliveries. Existing business loading restrictions will continue no loading from 8am to 9.30am, 12.30pm to 2.30pm, and 4.30pm to 6pm;
- The taxi rank in Back Wynd will be for day and night taxis;
- Buses will be re-routed either via the bus priority route (Market Street, Guild Street, and Bridge Street), Union Terrace, or Schoolhill – see bus company websites for information on individual routes.
The Union Street Central area will be closed to traffic between Bridge Street and Market Street and a works site compound created in that area. Works will move east to west (from Market Street to Bridge Street) with works information and colourful hoarding surrounding the closed-off area.
The area is being split into three sections of 100m each, with each phase of work starting in the first 100m on east side (closest to Market Street) before moving on to the second section and then the third (closest to Bridge Street).
The works for the first few months will include:
- trial holes dug in the road to find exact locations of utilities;
- removing all street furniture on the south side then the north side;
- removing the road surface;
- installing drains, gully traps, ducting, and kerbing.
There will also be works carried out by utility companies at the same time replacing and upgrading existing utilities when the road is opened up.
Works are due to be completed, depending on what is uncovered by utility companies, weather, and world-wide availability of materials, in autumn 2025.
City council co-leader Ian Yuill has warned there will be disruption while work is underway, but said the result will be a “much better high street” for the Granite City.
Mr Yuill told the Press & Journal: “It will take some time but the end result is a much better high street which will help play a part in attracting people to our city centre and making it a better place.
“But clearly there will be disruption… to use the expression, ‘No pain, no gain’.”
