The A75 Dunragit Bypass Project was completed in June following a 14-month detailed design and construction programme. CH2M provided design and construction supervision services for RJ McLeod Contractors on this £17.1m Design and Build Project for Transport Scotland.
The project, located in South West Scotland, provides enhanced safe overtaking opportunities on the A75, which is an important link for ferry terminals servicing Ireland in nearby Stranraer and Cairnryan. The project consisted of the construction of 5.3km of mainly WS2+1 carriageway, including a new bridge over the Glasgow to Stranraer railway line. The new road bypasses the village of Dunragit and removes strategic traffic from the village in addition to helping them avoid the height restrictions on the existing Challoch Bridge, which has been struck more than 50 times in the last seven years.
The project gained significant media attention during the construction period due to the discovery of an array of ancient artefacts including the remains of Metholithic dwellings from around 7000BC and rare jewellery dating back to around 2000BC. The bypass route was carefully selected to avoid the archaeology and other known archaeological cropmarks, most of which are scheduled monuments.
The design was successfully completed by the Glasgow office with more than 50 employees contributing from the Highways, Bridges, Geotechnical and Environmental teams.
This is the third successful project in recent years completed by the CH2M/RJ McLeod team in South West Scotland, following the A77 Haggstone and Glen App Road Improvements in 2008 and A75 Cairntop to Barlae Carriageway Improvements in 2010.