CTLR Site Visits By Groups & Organisations
As the largest and most significant infrastructure ever undertaken by Perth & Kinross Council the £150M Cross Tay Link Road project offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity for various groups, student bodies, and professionals to witness a large-scale engineering process take place.
Over the course of 24 months, the site will transform from fields and unused land to 6km of new road which will include the realignment of a portion of the A9 north of Perth, construction of a new bridge over the River Tay, and construction of a new link road from the A9 to the A93 and the A94 just north of Scone.
It will also increase the existing path network, creating more opportunities for active travel in and around the area.
Jillian Ferguson, Roads Infrastructure Manager for PKC, commented, “As well as offering ongoing educational, employment and economic benefits to the area, the Cross Tay Link Road has provided a unique opportunity for the communities of Perth and Kinross, and wider Scotland, to experience the excitement of a large-scale infrastructure project taking shape.
“We have been delighted to welcome students from across Scotland, senior leaders in our area, politicians and councillors, engineers from across the UK, schools and other groups of young people, and over 300 members of the local community at our first Open Day in October 2023.”
Site visits have a specific itinerary designed to keep people safe, and to offer informative progress reports relevant to the group attending.
- Presentation on the project and progress so far
- Opportunity for Q & A
- Safety Briefing
- PPE distribution
- Tour of Site – this vary depending on work in progress that day and duration of the visit
- Talks from engineers and project managers on the site
Innes Mackintosh, Community Benefits Manager, commented, “We’ve had such great feedback from the groups who have visited so far. The chance for face-to-face interaction with our engineers is always a highlight of any tour and offers a real sense of the intricacies involved in a job of this scale.”
Anyone wishing to secure a site visit for their group should contact Innes on: [email protected].
Site Visits By Groups & Organisations
- Blairgowrie High School Site Visit, 19/6/24
- Institute of Chartered Engineers Site Visit, 17/4/24
- Developing the Young Workforce Site Tour, 12/4/24
- Abertay University Engineering Students, 9/4/24
- University of Strathclyde Site Visit, 6/3/24
- Mott MacDonald, Global engineering, management and development consultants, 29/02/24
- 10th Perthshire Scout Group Site Visit, 27/01/24
- Men's Shed Scone, 24/01/24
- Site visit for a budding engineer, 19/12/23
- Future BAM UKI, 16/11/2023
- Perth UHI Visit, 08/11/2023
- John Swinney CTLR Visit, 03/11/2023
- Women in Bam, 02/11/2023
- Bertha Park High School, 26/10/2023
- Perth Autism Support- Alex visit, 18/10/2023
- Mike Finlayson at Stormontfield Hall, 13/06/2023
- Perth and Kinross Councillor Visits, 23 and 24/05/2023
- BAM Site Visit - Communication Team, 10/05/2023
- Perth and Kinross Council Staff visits, 04/05/2023
- Perth and Kinross Councillor Visits, 02/05/2023
- University of Highlands and Islands - Students Site Visit, 26/04/2023
- 10th Perthshire Scout Group Visit, 11/03/2023
- Kinross High School visit, 10/03/2023
- Strathclyde University visit, 08/03/2023
- John Swinney and CLLR Grant Laing Site Visit, 16/01/2023
Blairgowrie High School Site Visit, 19/6/24
Eleven pupils and two staff from Blairgowrie High School's S4 Engineering Class attended site for a presentation, and visit to both Destiny Bridge and the Green Bridge to find out more about the workings of the CTLR project.
Ronnie Carr and Amanda McClintock presented to students on the Project, and this followed by a visit to Destiny Bridge where Joe Lee, Site Agen Engineer offered further details, and a final stop at the Green Bridge where Ronnie concluded the day.
Melissa Lawrence, DYW Project Officer for Blairgowrie High School commented, "Our Nat 5 Engineering Science pupils had a fantastic visit to the Cross Tay Link Road sites where they learned about the project and civil engineering. Such a fantastic opportunity, thanks to all involved."
Institute of Chartered (ICE) Engineers Site Visit, 17/4/24
Seventeen ICE Engineers from organisations including SSE, Wallace Stone, MWH Treatment, QTS Group, AECOM, FAIRHURST, ARUP and more, joined us for a presentation and site tour for an update on the project. Visiting both Destiny Bridge and the Green Bridge, the two hour visit allowed this group of professionals the opportunity to view the project up close, and to ask questions of the engineers on site.
Interestingly, one of the cohort was a retired BAM Nuttall Engineering Manager who just happened to be John's Delegated Engineer at the start of his career.
Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Site Tour, 12/4/24
A close partner of the Community Benefits team, DYW has assisted BAM in delivering Bridge Building in schools, careers events and STEM activities throughout the project. Morgan McLeod, Employer Liaison Officer, took time out of her schedule to visit the with a view to garnering a deeper understanding of the project. Visiting the Green Bridge and East Pier, it demonstrated first hand what young people can expect when entering careers in Civil Engineering.
Morgan commented, "After working with the CTLR team for the last 18 months and promoting to students, it was inspiring to see how the project has developed in person. The bridges will be a great asset for the local community, wildlife and commuters of Perth. Thank you so much to the project team for their continued support and collaboration with DYW Tay Cities."
Abertay University Engineering Students, 9/4/24
Thirteen students, including Abertay University Engineering students and a visiting cohort from France, enjoyed a presentation and site tour with the project team. Visiting both Destiny Bridge and the Green Bridge, the tour generated plenty of interest and a number of important questions and answers.
Dr Andrew Minto commented, “We would like to thank Innes, John, and the whole CTLR team for the site visit. We had a good mix of students from different stages of the programme, and they all enjoyed seeing a live site and hearing about the design and construction work they learn about on the course. It allows them to opportunity to see the relevance of what they are learning in the context of a live construction site. It was really interesting to hear all about the excellent work the team are doing to engage with the local community and this is something that is not often demonstrated during these site visits. It allowed our students the opportunity to see all of the additional work that is required to deliver a successful construction project.”
University of Strathclyde Site Visit, 6/3/24
A group of 30 students from the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Strathclyde University were offered a site visit and tour by David Kilburn, BAM, Regional Engineering Manager, Innes Mackintosh, Community Engagement Manager and Ronald Carr, BAM, Sub Agent. The group visited Destiny Bridge from the East Pier, where David provided an overview of the temporary works and other engineering aspects of the bridge construction.
They then drove round to the Green Bridge, where Ronnie talked about the construction stages of the Green Bridge and associated environmental impacts.
Mike Murray, Senior Teaching Fellow in Construction Management, noted that it was "A rewarding visit for all who attended."
Mott MacDonald, Global engineering, management and development consultants, 29/03/24
A group of 15 young engineers from global engineering, management and development consultants, Mott MacDonald, attended the site for a progress tour with Innes Mackintosh, Derek Walsh, and Ronnie Carr and a presentation on project progress
The site visit took them to the East and West Piers of Destiny Bridge where they viewed the Hammerhead Structure and the Balanced Cantilever Form Traveller; this area in particular attracted a lot of questions from the young engineers.
Colin Sangster, Senior Associate - Bridges, commented, "I wanted to say thank you very much to BAM, particularly Innes, Derek, and Ronnie, for accommodating us yesterday. The site visit was excellent and everyone in the group, from apprentices through to senior staff, enjoyed it and learned something.
"Post-tensioned bridge knowledge in this country isn’t abundant and yesterday’s visit showed many construction methods that are new to our team. This has sparked a lot of conversation and sharing of reports on other post-tensioned structures. Seeing the Green Bridge was also very worthwhile as this type of arch is growing in popularity and something very few of the team are aware of, let alone actually seen under construction.
"We found driving the new road network in the area fascinating. There hasn’t been a lot of national press around the project thus far, but there certainly will be when it is revealed to the public – it looks great! Again, it showed some of the younger members of our Bridges team why what we do is so important, and how our work affects other disciplines and the lives of many for years to come.
"All-in-all, a thoroughly worthwhile trip for us and something we will reference as a team for a long time."
10th Perthshire Scout Group Site Visit, 27/01/24
30 scouts and 2 leaders from the 10th Perthshire Scouts joined us on-site for a tour of the A9/West Site and the West Abutment with John Slaven, Project Manager. Quin Pilling, one of the project's sub-contractors, also offered a more in-depth talk about the piling taking place, which was well received by all attending.
Chris Kirk Group Scout Leader, 10th Perthshire Scouts, followed up with an email.
"Our sincere thanks for putting together Saturday's visit for our Scouts. The Scouts (and Leaders) had a great time and certainly learned a great deal about the project. Your staff who explained things so well and enthusiastically were quite superb with the kids. Can you please pass on our thanks to all concerned? We appreciate all you have done to help us. Thanks again."
Menshed Scone, 24/1/24
Derek Brown and David Cormack from the Menshed group in Scone visited the site as local residents involved in the CTLR community groups. They enjoyed a site visit, and were brought up to speed on build progress and future plans by Innes Mackintosh and Ronnie Carr.
Menshed Scone has worked with CTLR project since October 2023, when they were supplied with wood in order to build build the birdboxes that were painted by the children attending our Community Open Day event. These will be distributed throughout the nearby woodlands this spring.
Site Visit for a Budding Engineer, 19/12/23
Our youngest ever budding engineer visited the site on 19th December after his Mum wrote in to us to explain his obsession with bridges! Hugo (aged 3) was given the site tour just before Christmas!
Nicole Harris, Hugo's mum, commented, "Thank you again for the time you took to show us the two bridges under construction. Hugo was very excited to visit the site, and continues to talk about the bridges when we pass by on the A9.
"Hugo particularly liked learning that so much of the bridge lies underground, and how the green bridge will provide a corridor for wildlife. Just yesterday he told me that 'foxes will use the green bridge, because foxes live in the forest'.
"Hugo's nursery teachers at Viewlands Primary were very supportive of his visit and asked him to do a "show and tell" session with the rest of his class, using the photos taken on site. We continue to encourage his interest with lots of books and videos, and will keep an eye on the bridge as the build progresses - we're all looking forward to the cantilever sections going up!"
Perth College UHI Students, 8/11/23
Students from Perth College UHI studying both NC Built Environment and HNC Construction Management, attended a full site visit with tour in November 2023. A total of 32 students and 2 teachers, Daniel Kiraly and Barry Duncan, were welcomed to the Stormontfield office where they met John Slaven, CTLR Project Manager, who presented an overview of the project and a progress update. This was followed by a talk on the importance of Community Engagement in a project such as CTLR from Innes Mackintosh.
As with all groups, a safety briefing was carried out by Safety Advisor, Ralph Yardley before the full site tour by Innes Mackintosh and Ronnie Carr (sub-agent and community engagement engineer). The group also received a briefing from Cameron Hay at the East Pier, and Liam Boyle at the West Pier. Their final destination was the Green Bridge before return to the site office.
Daniel Kiraly, Lecturer in STEM and Built Environment for UHI Perth commented, "What a fantastic opportunity to see all the phases of a major infrastructure project happening at the same time! Innes and the team at BAM have provided our students (NC Built Environment and HNC Construction Management) with a tour that covered everything from groundworks (SUDS and bridge piles) to exciting Civil Engineering processes.
"They were fascinated to hear about the different phases of the project and especially interested in the bridge deck construction process. The Green bridge was probably the highlight of the visit for them and already enquired about its completion date, as they would like to see it when finished. We were particularly pleased to see that the road surface was already completed and that made our visit so much smoother. It was a brilliant day filled with information relevant to our students.
"Coincidentally, some of the works that were undergoing on site were matching the current topics they are studying at the moment in college and one just can't get a better learning experience. Thank you for having us Innes and looking forward to our next visit."
Vikki Cuthbert, HNC Construction Management Student commented, "It was great to see the scale of the project up close and have the opportunity to ask questions from those involved first hand. Appreciated that we were driven right across the site to see the key areas and to see the site live. I think we were all impressed by the scale of the Piers and the equipment needed not to mention the challenges of the access next to the railway line.
"It's definitely been an inspiration towards furthering a career in Civil and Environmental engineering. In particular the view was spectacular and looking forward to going back after completion to see how it has evolved. A great way to be able to show off Perthshire. Thanks to Innes and his team for showing us around."
John Swinney MSP, 3/11/23
John Swinney, MSP for Perthshire North, visited with contractors and officials working on the Cross Tay Link Road for the second time this year.
Commenting, Mr Swinney said: “I was delighted to meet with the team currently working on the construction of the Cross Tay Link Road. It was also particularly welcome to view in-person the progress on the road that has been made since my previous visit earlier this year.
“The CTLR is a hugely-ambitious infrastructure project that will bring with it improvements to air quality, better traffic flow and new economic opportunities.
Read More about Mr Swinney's visit >
Women in BAM UK & Ireland, 2/11/23
The Cross Tay Link Road project welcomed the BAM UK & Ireland Women’s Network for Scotland to the site on Thursday 2nd November, where they enjoyed a full agenda including presentations and discussion, and a site tour and progress report.
Isla Hill, BAM’s Regional Bid Manager for Scotland, commented, “We want to be a company that attracts and nurtures all talent, and to be recognised a destination employer. By ensuring that we place the female agenda front and centre, we are endeavouring to level the playing field for women."