Union Street Central new streetscape project will deliver improvements to streets and pavements in the city centre.
Construction works will begin in the second quarter of 2024 and expected to take
18 months to completion. These works will be carried out in three phases moving east to west (from Market Street junction to Bridge Street junction).
These improvements will help create a more vibrant city centre, which is sustainable, accessible and inclusive and promotes healthy active travel.
To view the recent business and residents event presentation for Union Street Central and the New Market, click here.
Our contractors also have a dedicated community liaison officer working with their site teams who will keep you informed of works and progress and will be available to discuss any matters you may want to raise.
For further information please contact: streetscape-market@morrisonconstruction.co.uk
Denburn Road Carriageway Closure
02/09/19 Union Terrace Gardens
As part of the improvement works on Union Street Central, investigation works will need to be carried out on the underside of the Union Bridge.
To facilitate these investigations safely, the southbound carriageway of Denburn Road, from the Woolmanhill Roundabout to the Wapping Street junction will be closed on Sunday 17 November from 9am to 4pm.
Southbound traffic will be diverted via Skene Street, Rosemount Viaduct, Union Terrace, and Bridge Street. The bus gate on Bridge Street will be temporarily suspended between 9am and 4pm to facilitate diverted traffic.
The northbound carriageway of Denburn Road will remain open as normal.
Anyone who has any questions about the closure can contact the Union Street Central site team on streetscape-market@morrisonconstruction.co.uk.
Next stage of works to begin on Union Street Central
The next stage of works on Union Street Central are due to begin on Monday with the installation of a new drainage system.
This will involve removing old tram tracks which were buried below the existing road surface and removing small sections of the concrete slab. This process will generate noise and dust at times and measures will be taken to minimise the impact.
The drainage works are expected to take around six weeks and are expected to be completed by Friday 27 September 2024.
Once the drainage installation is completed, the remaining concrete slab will be removed and preparations will begin to install the new kerb area.
During these works shops and services in the Union Street Central area will remain open for business as normal and access for the public will be maintained.
Anyone who has any questions or requires further information about the works can contact the site team by email on streetscape-market@morrisonconstruction.co.uk.
‘Soft Start’ necessary for Union Street Central works
You may have been wondering why there appears to be little construction activity in the Union Street Central area after the lane restrictions were implemented at the end of April 2024.
There are two main reasons for this ‘soft start’ approach to the project:
- An initial settling in period was necessary to allow delivery drivers, taxis and cyclists get used to the one-way access lane running west from Bridge Street towards Market Street. This one-way direction of travel has been established for the safety of pedestrians using the area and to ensure road users who still have access are familiar with the traffic management layout before the main construction workforce arrive on site.
- There are a great deal of pre-construction works to be carried out before the main improvement works can begin. These works are being carried out by small teams of one or two site staff performing essential surveys and checks which must be completed before the main construction work can begin.
These types of work often go unnoticed by the public and include:
- pre-condition surveys on building adjacent to the work area
- noise surveys to establish a baseline for noise prior to the start of works
- checking street surface levels
- surveying drainage and utility services locations
The surveys and checks are necessary as maps and drawings showing drains, cables and other utilities may be out of date or missing vital details. Some of the storm drains currently being located and checked under Union Street date back to when it was originally built 200-years ago.
This survey work will shortly move forward with ‘trial pits’ being dug in parts of the street to allow further investigations. The surveys may uncover utility cables and other works not recorded on any maps or technical drawings and we need to be check to see if they are still operational.
Site cabins and other equipment will shortly begin to be placed in the project area and there will be increased activity by utility firms.
The Union Street Central shops and businesses are open for business as usual with full pedestrian access during all of this. The only change is that buses are being diverted away from the Union Street Central section and new temporary bus stops have been established on Bridge Street and Market Street for the duration of the work.
After completing the pre-construction activities, we will erect site hoardings around the first 100 meters of the construction area at the Market Street end. Once the site hoardings are up the main construction work will begin.
