Destiny Bridge and the New Kingsway, key components of the single largest infrastructure project ever undertaken by Perth & Kinross Council, opened on 31st March 2025, in a ceremony led by First Minister, John Swinney.
The £150 million scheme, initially known as the Cross Tay Link Road project, improved connectivity within Perth, and opened up new opportunities for sustainable travel and economic growth. A reduction of over 38,000 tCO2e was achieved through innovative procurement and design and was recognised in the Institute of Civil Engineers Carbon Champion Award in 2024.
Linking the A9, the A93 and the A94 by providing a crossing over the River Tay, the project also includes a 12km active travel path network, linking the neighbouring communities with Perth city centre and providing alternatives to vehicular traffic. This path network connects via a central hub at a new Park-and-Choose area and incorporates a green bridge to separate active travel users and wildlife from the road.
The Project was designed to provide vehicular traffic with an alternative to the city centre, freeing up road space to provide measure to facilitate and encourage sustainable travel. As well as fulfilling this important objective, the project has had significant and far-reaching economic impact, both during construction and since completion.
Jillian Ferguson, Roads Infrastructure Manager at Perth and Kinross Council, explains “Construction of the project resulted in £79.1 million contributing to the Scottish economy, with £33.7 million of this being spent in Perth and Kinross. Together with the social and community aspects of the project, this resulted in the project providing a total social and economic value of £44.5 million. Importantly, embodied carbon emissions were cut by over 38,000 tCO2e — a 45% reduction from the agreed baseline.
“The impact has been wide-reaching: creating jobs, expanding skills, and engaging with schools, colleges, universities and training programmes. A strong community focus ensured support for vulnerable groups and investment in projects that improve public spaces and deliver environmental benefits.”
Since opening, Destiny Bridge and the New Kingsway has enhanced connectivity, reduced travel times, and increased access to markets, services, and employment making Perth and Kinross more attractive for investment and development.
It has also unlocked land development as outlined in the Local Development Plan, supporting the wider goals of TAYplan and helping facilitate the sustainable growth of Perth by providing opportunities for housing and commercial use, and tourism.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, First Minister John Swinney said, “This project showcases exactly how, with the right investment and strong partnerships, we will continue to deliver on our priorities of growing the economy, improving public services and protecting the planet.”
Perth and Kinross Council Leader, Eric Drysdale, commented, “Perth is irrefutably beautiful, offering wide pedestrianised walkways and easy access to the River Tay and the green parklands of the North and South Inches. Now, , we can capitalise even more on the appeal of our central location and our natural environment, to bring new and exciting opportunities for all.”
As well as positively impacting on traffic flows and the environment, the project created job opportunities and tackled local skills shortages through a robust outreach and training programme and generated several legacy projects including the Denmarkfield allotments and community orchard, and the community artwork project.
Councillor Drysdale continued, “Clear objectives, strong leadership and genuine commitment from our team, BAM and other partners ensured not only the successful delivery of the largest infrastructure investment in our Council’s history, but also meaningful, lasting benefits for our communities and environment.”
The project has won multiple industry awards including NEC Martin Barnes Award 2025 Winner in Project Excellence and Innovation, Scottish Civil Engineering Awards 2025 Winner of the Transport Project of the Year award, and British Construction and Infrastructure Awards 2025 Winner of Transport Project Award.
The project was funded by Perth and Kinross Council, with Scottish Government, through Transport Scotland, providing a £40m funding contribution.
Read More About Destiny Bridge and the New Kingsway > https://www.perthtransportfutures.co.uk/news
