Dighty Bridge Opening & Ongoing Improvements
An official opening ceremony will be held at the splendid new five-metre wide Dighty Bridge at Monifieth on Sunday 3 March as part of a programme of fun and activities.
Angus and Dundee City councils worked in partnership to deliver this important upgrading of part of the National Cycle Network Route 1 (NCN 1).
Funded by the Scottish Government through Sustrans Scotland’s Places for Everyone programme, the coastal path project is designed to provide a continuous off-road route between Dundee and Monifieth to create a better, safer environment for people to walk, cycle and wheel, and to encourage locals and visitors to enjoy a healthier lifestyle through active travel. Hundreds if not thousands of people have already walked, cycled and wheeled their way across the bridge since it opened shortly before Christmas.
Now springtime will hopefully provide a perfect setting to formally mark Dighty Bridge’s completion with a midday ribbon-cutting ceremony, and with it the continuation of the multi-million-pound active travel route between Broughty Ferry and Monifieth. Dundee and Angus Cycle Hub will be on hand near to the bridge to provide a host of fun cycling activities for all to enjoy between 11am until 3pm.
With positive responses so far, the Broughty Ferry and Monifieth Active Travel Improvement project team are confident the new bridge will continue to receive thumbs-ups from the many regular users of the previous bridge and attract many others to the coastal path.
It comes as further works are beginning elsewhere along the Angus coastline, hot on the heels of improvements at Barry Station and ongoing works at Carnoustie – also supported by funding from the Scottish Government through Sustrans Scotland’s Network Development Fund.
These include enhancements around Marine Drive in Monifieth and at Elliot Links, on the approach to Arbroath.
Tayside Contracts are working at Elliot Links from today until Wednesday 28 February and then at Monifieth from Thursday 29 February until Friday 29 March (weather permitting). The improvements at Elliot Links, the second phase of work there, will improve the route’s surface quality along a further 200-metre stretch to the Balcathie level-crossing.
At Monifieth, work leads on from the neighbouring Broughty Ferry to Monifieth active travel improvement project and is aimed at encouraging people to continue eastwards from Marine Drive onto a new shared use path running parallel to the road. This realignment, along with the addition of street lighting, will enhance road safety.
The new path will continue up the east side of Marine Drive (having crossed near Riverview Caravan Park) before joining the existing path leading to the football pitches. A new section of shared use path will also run alongside the road to Barry Buddon, with a crossing point and a segregated section at the car park there.
I am delighted at the cycleway improvements that the Scottish Government funding has enabled thus far and continues to support across Angus.
GRAEME
The completion of these sections will improve safety and enjoyment of active travel, while also supporting more sustainable options for people’s everyday journeys.
The official opening of the Dighty Bridge should be a wonderful occasion, and I would encourage constituents to go along and get involved.
The SNP government is committed to investing in active and sustainable transport in Angus and across Scotland.
It is fantastic to see the results of the work to replace the old bridge. It was no longer fit for purpose and this five-metre-wide new bridge will serve our communities for years to come.
CLLR MARK MCDONALD, ANGUS COUNCIL COMMUNITIES CONVENER
There will be no more squeezing past folk on a narrow gangway – people can now walk, wheel and cycle at leisure, and perhaps stop to take in the magnificent coastal scenery, or even admire the new Dighty Bridge.
Congratulations to everyone who has worked to achieve this important part of the wider coastal path project and I invite our local communities in Broughty Ferry and Monifieth to come and appreciate the fruits of that labour on 3 March.
The completion of the new Dighty Bridge is a huge achievement for Broughty Ferry and Monifieth. Its convenient and accessible design means more people than ever will be able to walk, wheel and cycle between the two communities with ease.
SIMON STRAIN, SUSTRANS HEAD OF PROGRAMME (PLACES FOR EVERYONE)
The bridge also serves as a coastal keystone for National Cycle Network Route 1, tying in neatly with the new 2.5 mile path and nearby flood protection works.
Thank you to all those who took part in helping us reach this important milestone. I look forward to joining the opening celebrations Sunday 3 March and hope to see many others there too.
Background
Hundreds of people in Broughty Ferry and Monifieth had their say on draft concept designs for improving the coastal path during a consultation for the Places for Everyone Programme between late 2019 and early 2020. Included, were improvements to the beach access, as well as links between the coast and the towns.
The exercise found overwhelming support for the multi-million-pound proposals, with more than three-quarters of people in favour of the designs that were presented. Comments on the draft have been used by the project team to help influence the plans and implementation of the scheme going forward.
