B973

This article is about the current B973 at Blackburn, Aberdeenshire.
For the former B973 in upper Strathdon, see B973 (Strathdon).

Blackburn

The B973 follows the former route of the A96 through the little village of Blackburn to the west of Aberdeen. The number was apparently allocated when the bypass was opened, rather than simply extending the B979 as would have been done elsewhere. This is made even stranger by the fact that the B979 multiplexes with the A96 for some distance to the east before continuing its journey south, so it now also multiplexes, however briefly, with the B973.

The route starts at the Kinellar Roundabout at the west end of the village and quickly turns eastwards along Main Road, passing an industrial estate between it and the bypass. After a couple of fields to the north of the road, housing estates take over and then, after passing a park, the B979 comes in from the north. The rest of the route is therefore a useless multiplex, but the B973 is signed as continuing past the hotel and over the Black Burn. A couple of shops follow, but Blackburn is essentially a modern commuter village which has grown up around a small nucleus of old buildings by the bridge, so soon modern housing lines the road once more. Before long, however, the road is turning to the south and comes to an end back on the dualled A96 bypass at the Clinterty Roundabout.

Whilst the above route is identified as such in Aberdeenshire Council's central highway list, and is marked with that number on OS maps, signage at the road's two junctions with the A96 refers only to the B979. Within the village, the signage is even more uncertain. The two advance signs for the B979 junction show that Main Road ahead is the B979, but at the junction itself, flag signs identify the B973 as heading in both directions along Main Road. It seems as though the road carries the B973 number, but to try and remove confusion for motorists it is largely signed as being the B979.