Local councillor Steve Delaney was contacted by a number of Kingswells residents with various questions relating to resurfacing works on these two roads.The original plans would have closed both roads for around three weeks which would have made access arrangements very difficult for residents and taken the X14 and the school buses off Kingswells Crescent at Corse Avenue, effectively cutting off nearly half off the population of Kingswells from bus services for three weeks.
Steve said, “Although local access will be maintained as much as is possible, it was going to be very difficult for the number of motorists living on streets which come off Kingswells Crescent to get and out of their homes, especially at busy times. I brought matters to the attention of Aberdeen City Council and they have been particularly helpful in coming up with a revised plan so that, though it will cause some inconvenience, this will be much less than for the closure of both roads and it will be for much less time”.
Kingswells Crescent Resurfacing
The revised closure will now be from Monday 11th – Friday 15th March. Access will be maintained to people’s homes but there is likely to be delays at busy times and you may have to change your route to go northwards or southbound dependent upon where the resurfacing is being done. I apologise in advance for the delays but it’s now programmed for just five days and the result will be a complete resurfacing of Kingswells Crescent from Concraig Gardens to the C89C, which we will all benefit from.
Works will be done in phases, starting at the Concraig end as per phase 1 as indicated in the above diagram. It will then move to phases 2 and 3 over the course of the next few days.
There is a caveat. If the weather is particularly bad or unforeseen circumstances occur it may be necessary to add on additional days but there is already some contingency for little slippage within this tighter timescale. The last time there was major roadworks on the C89C a few years ago, the shortened timetable worked well.
With regard to the school buses to Bucksburn Academy, these will be diverted up Corse Avenue, cutting off all streets coming off Kingswells Crescent as previously advised. However, both the X14 and the Bucksburn Academy service are intended to return to their normal routes on 18th March if Kingswells Crescent has re-opened. If not, all services will return to the normal routes as soon as this road does re-open. In the case of the school buses, the change will happen from the next day so parents and young people can be informed.
Concraig Gardens Resurfacing
The resurfacing of Concraig Gardens will not now happen at the same time as Kingswells Crescent so as to avoid major disruption. It is however intended that Concraig Gardens will start as soon as possible after Kingswells Crescent has fully re-opened. The intention is for Concraig Gardens to be done from Monday 18th – Friday 22nd March. Unfortunately the road will need to be clear of cars for the resurfacing to proceed. It will therefore be necessary for residents (who do not have a driveway) to park their vehicles in another street when their street is being resurfaced. Local access to residential properties will be maintained thoughout but there will be delays at peak times.