A92

Originally Scotland's main east-coast route north of the Firth of Forth, linking Fife, Dundee, Angus, Kincardineshire, Aberdeen and Fraserburgh, the A92 has a complex history. It's undergone many route changes and suffered a significant truncation in the 1990s, leaving it as a route from Dunfermline - Dundee - Stonehaven. In 2018, it regained a part of its former northern section from Stonehaven to Blackdog following the opening of the AWPR. The A92 now continues from Stonehaven, runs through Aberdeen, following Anderson Drive along the former inner bypass, terminating on the A90 at Blackdog, north of the City.

It's now a mixture of trunk and non-primary dual, four-lane and single-carriageway and still forms a very important route through Fife, Angus and Aberdeen.

Route

Since 2018, the A92 has once more reached Aberdeen, from its starting point at Dunfermline in Fife. Along the way it links numerous large and important towns, often passing right through the middle of them, and yet also has a good mixture of rural sections, including the rather dull East Fife Regional Road, and the slightly more exhilarating coastal section in Kincardineshire.

Across Fife

Main Article: A92/Dunfermline - Glenrothes

The A92 starts at the Halbeath Junction on the edge of Dunfermline and for the first dozen miles it heads east along a rather dull, but effective grade separated dual carriageway to the edge of Kirkcaldy. Here, a roundabout turns it north to Glenrothes New Town. This whole section was newly built in the 1980s, completed in 1991.

Main Article: A92/Glenrothes - Dundee

From Glenrothes, the route heads north, and briefly finds the route assigned to it in 1922. However, before long, it deviates once more to take a scenic, rural run through north Fife, bypassing all but the tiniest of villages as it cross the eastern end of the Ochill Hills. It finally reaches the Tay shore at a roundabout above the Tay Road Bridge.

Angus

Main Article: A92/Dundee - Montrose

After crossing the Tay, the A92 wends its way through Dundee to find another semi-rural dual carriageway which crosses southern Angus to reach Arbroath. Here the route turns north west, and follows one of its most scenic sections as it crosses the hillside above the rugged coastline to reach Montrose.

Montrose - Aberdeen and beyond

Main Article: A92/Montrose - Aberdeen

From Montrose, the A92 keeps close to the coast as it heads north to reach Stonehaven. Until 2018 this was the end of the route, but since the opening of the AWPR it has reclaimed some of its original line, with a fast-flowing dual carriageway leading it to the edge of the Granite City.

Main Article: A92/Through Aberdeen

The final section of the modern A92 route takes it through the western suburbs of Aberdeen on Anderson Drive, then along The Parkway to Bridge of Don, before turning north once more to meet the northern end of the AWPR at Blackdog. Until 1994, it continued north all the way to Fraserburgh, but this is now the A90 and A952.

History

A92 historic route from 1922/3 numbering

The pages above include detailed descriptions of the historic route. However, as a broad outline, the original line started in Inverkeithing and followed the A921 route to Kirkcaldy, from where it turned north through the New Town of Glenrothes. It then followed the A914 route via Cupar to reach the Tay Ferry. From Dundee, the route largely remains on its original alignment outwith the larger urban areas all the way to Stonehaven, which it passed directly through before the bypass opened in the 1980s. Until 1994, the route then passed through Aberdeen city centre to reach Fraserburgh, via the A952 route. However, in that year the A90 was extended north from Perth, curtailing the A92 at Stonehaven. It was extended back through Aberdeen in 2018, following the completion of the AWPR.

Trunk Road status

The A92's trunk road status has also been quite volatile. The Trunk Roads Act 1936 designated the section from Dundee to Fraserburgh as a trunk road (except within the urban areas of Dundee, Arbroath and Aberdeen, as large burghs didn't get trunk roads within them). The Trunk Roads Act 1946 added the section from Inverkeithing to Kirkcaldy, as part of the rather bizarrely routed trunk road from Dennyloanhead via the East Neuk of Fife to St Andrews. That Act also trunked the part from the junction with A972 to the eastern boundary of Dundee. The current route of A92 between Kirkcaldy and Dundee (including the then A914) certainly became primary at some stage, although it is unclear when any of it became trunk. In south Fife, for a time the primary route followed the A987/A907 inland route (Queensferry passage, now B9157), bypassing Burntisland and Kinghorn, but the trunk route does not appear to have been altered accordingly. Map evidence on the status of the coastal route is inconsistent: the margin of 1-inch Sheet 55, 1972 edition, shows it as trunk, but the margin of the adjoining sheet 56, 1969 edition, does not. What is certain is that Halbeath to Dundee has been trunk throughout since 1996.

Conversely, Dundee to Stonehaven was detrunked in the 1970s, when the decision was taken to upgrade the inland A929/A94 (now A90) route. North of Aberdeen the old A92 was trunk to the A952 junction NE of Ellon, and lost it until meeting the A952 south of Fraserburgh, possibly explaining why the A90 was routed that way. In 1996 the route within Aberdeen also became trunk, losing that status again on completion of the AWPR.

Therefore, the only part of the 1936 trunk route to remain trunk is from Stonehaven to the junction with A956, and none of the current trunk section elsewhere was trunk in 1936.

Improvement Opening Dates

Year	Section	Notes
1932	Benholm Bridge	The new Benholm Bridge, standing immediately downstream of the old 1774 bridge, opened to one-way traffic, without ceremony, on Thursday 27 July 1932.
1962	Cowie House Diversion	The diversion to the north of Stonehaven was opened to northbound traffic on 17 August 1962. The full opening was expected in a few weeks. It was part of a £133,000 improvement scheme which included Bridge of Muchalls. Later became unclassified.
1964	Bridge of Muchalls - Cortins	The 1 mile widening and re-alignment north of Stonehaven was completed in 1964 per the 1964 Scottish Development Department Report (but note it is included on the 1963 OS one inch map). Included a 0.7 mile dual carriageway.
1966	Tay Road Bridge and approach roads	The 7,365 foot (1.4 mile) 42 span bridge from Newport on Tay to Dundee was opened on 18 August 1966 by the Queen Mother. 22 foot dual carriageways with 10 foot central reservation for pedestrians. Gradient was 1 in 81. There were 3.6 miles of approach roads in Fife from B946 at Sandford Hill and 0.75 mile in Dundee. Dual carriageway from Forgan Roundabout to the bridge. Contractor was Duncan Logan (Contractors) Ltd. of Muir of Ord, cost £6.5 million.
1967	Cortins - Limpet Mill	The 0.75 mile dualling north of Stonehaven was completed in 1967 per the 1967 Scottish Development Department Report. Limpet Mill was north of Limpet Burn.
1969	New Inn - Balfarg dualling	The 1.33 mile online dualling to just south of Balfarg was completed in 1969 per the 1969 Scottish Development Department Report. Cost £200,000.
1970	Monduff Diversion	The 0.75 mile dual carriageway south of and about the current Newtonhill Junction was completed in 1970 per the 1970 Scottish Development Department Report. Due date was mid-September 1970 per Aberdeen Press of 29 July 1970.
1972	Arbroath Inner Relief Road	Phase 2 between Panmure Street (near to Catherine Street) and West Grimsby was completed in 1972 per the 1972 Scottish Development Department Report. Cost £170,000. A start had been made on the next phase between East Grimsby and Dundee Road.
1975	Cammachmore Bypass	Reported as nearing completion in the 27 March 1975 Aberdeen Press. Renumbered to A90 in 1994, then back to A92.
1983	Thornton Bypass	Phase 2 - the 1.3 mile southern section was completed in 1983 per the Roads in Scotland Report for 1983 to complete the bypass. The 1.2 mile Phase 1 northern section had been completed in 1981.
1985	East Fife Regional Road	Phase 1 - The dual carriageway from the original M90 Halbeath Junction to Cowdenbeath Junction was opened in 1985 per the Dundee Courier of 25 April 1986 (the Halbeath Spur opened in 1998). Contractor was Tractor Shovels Ltd..
1987	East Fife Regional Road	Phase 2 - The 2.2 mile dual carriageway from Cowdenbeath Junction to Lochgelly Junction was opened on 20 August 1987 by James Douglas-Hamilton, Scottish Environment Minister. Contractor was Tractor Shovels Ltd., cost £6.3 million.
1990	East Fife Regional Road	Phases 3 & 4 - The dual carriageway from Lochgelly Junction to Redhouse Roundabout (south end of Thornton Bypass) was opened on 16 July 1990 by James Douglas-Hamilton, Scottish Environment Minister. The first "drive" was a shot down the road by Scottish golfer Sam Torrence. Contractor was Tractor Shovels Ltd..
1997	Montrose Inner Relief Road	Basin View and Basin Well Drive. Opened on 28 February 1997 by Councillor Sandy West. Contractor was Balfour Beatty Construction (Scotland) Ltd..
2022	Haudagain Roundabout Bypass	The 0.3 mile dual carriageway between North Anderson Drive (A92) and Auchmill Road (A96) was opened on 16 May 2022 by Jenny Gilruth, Transport Minister. Cost £49.5 million.

Links

Roads UK

• Highways and Byways Route Guide (Fife Regional Road)
• Highways and Byways Route Guide (Arbroath Road)

BBC

• Domesday Reloaded: Hillend Bypass

legislation.gov.uk

• The A92 Trunk Road (Stonehaven to Charleston) (Prohibition and 40mph Speed Limit) Order 2019 - Regulations providing prohibition of turns and speed limits, primarily at junctions

Videos

Tay Road Bridge

Driving north along the A92 from Forgan Roundabout and over the Tay Road Bridge, then again southbound.

Watch video > >