A new Tay bridge at Perth is the key to the city’s future growth and prosperity, councillors will be told this week.
The £113 million Cross Tay Link Road — linking the A93 and the A94 north of Scone to the A9 between Inveralmond and Luncarty — will pave the way for thousands of new jobs and relieve mounting traffic congestion.
The full council will be asked on Wednesday to approve the preferred route of the road which already has two thirds of the funding in place.
The £35m shortfall is currently the subject of a bid to the Tay Cities Deal project.
“It will open up opportunities for housing and jobs for people moving into the area,” said Councillor John Kellas, convener of the enterprise and infrastructure committee.
“It will make Perth a central hub — this infrastructure will redefine the city.”
A report by council depute chief executive Jim Valentine says that Perth is a “major strategic hub” in Scotland’s roads network but that the danger of traffic grinding to a standstill is hampering economic progress.
“Over the past 20 years, as a result of increasing levels of traffic and new local development, there has been increasing concern about the noticeable increase in traffic congestion and related air quality issues in, and around, Perth,” says the report.
“As a result of these traffic and air quality issues, it was clear that there were both current, and potentially exacerbated future, problems which needed to be addressed. This was required in order to ensure that congestion did not undermine the future development of the city nor impact on the wider national economy.
“Failure to examine this congestion will continue to undermine the air quality problem and the increased congestion and delays will further constrain the day to day operation of the city centre.
“The need for a package of measures which address this problem has, therefore, been identified as an issue over many years.”
The report says the last major infrastructure in Perth was more than 35 years ago with the construction of the Perth western bypass and that the Cross Tay Link Road would ease traffic pressures, aid the expansion of Perth as envisaged in the local development plan and had the potential to create between 3,000 and 5,000 jobs by opening up development land.
It will also allow a more direct access to Scone Palace and the racecourse, making it more attractive as a venue for major events.
It is estimated that for every £1 invested in the link road will generate £4.30 of revenue.
The intention is to commence construction in 2019 and for it to be open to general traffic by 2022.