Network Rail has announced that a multi-million-pound project to demolish and rebuild a bridge in Angus has now begun.

The bridge is located on the A937 (Craigo Road), which goes from Montrose in Angus to Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire, and takes vehicles over the Dundee to Aberdeen railway line.

The first stage of work involves the installation of a new temporary bridge that will ensure that communities in the area remain connected during the engineering work.

Utility lines, such as those supplying electricity, gas, water, and telecoms, will also be diverted over the temporary structure until the new bridge is complete.

The decision to replace the Craigo Road bridge was taken as a result of concerns that the old bridge will be unable to continue supporting the volume of traffic that passes over it each day.

The work will cost a total of £3 million.

The demolition of the old bridge is due to take place early next year, and it is expected that the new bridge will be open to the public in April 2025.

The work on building the temporary bridge has been scheduled to take place when trains are not running, so as to reduce disruption to passengers.

The Dundee to Aberdeen line is served by Caledonian Sleeper, which operates to London Euston, LNER, which operates services to London Kings Cross, and ScotRail, which provides more local services.

However, following the introduction of a temporary timetable in August of this year, CrossCountry no longer provide services to Aberdeen.

We know that Craigo Road is important for connecting the communities in the area and that’s why we’re creating a temporary bridge to allow vehicles continued access during the project.

Allison Flannagan, project manager, Network Rail