Charleston Interchange

The A956 through the new junction before the AWPR opened

Charleston Interchange is a junction of many names. Not only do the alternate spellings Charleston and Charlestown seem to be in use, it is also referred to as either a Junction or Interchange, and commonly known as Charlesto(w)n Flyover. Whatever it is called, it is located at the junction of the A92 and A956 to the south of Aberdeen. The current junction was built in 2015/6 as part of the new Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, and saw a new bridge built on a skew and slightly to the south of the old flyover, to provide a fully signalised diamond interchange. Both routes are dualled, with the A92 passing underneath uninterrupted while the A956 was extended westwards to meet the new A90. The A956 widens out to D3 over the bridge, to provide turning lanes for right-turning traffic, with yellow boxes to ensure the sliproads don't get blocked.

History

The original junction at Checkbar

The old layout of the junction was a trumpet on the A90 at the start of the citybound A956. As noted above, the bridge lay a little to the north of the current bridge, and the sliproads then curved round to the south, cut into the hillside, with the general shape still visible on aerial photography. The bridge was single carriageway and had to be demolished to make way for the new sliproads. The A956 was always dualled towards the city, the sliproads merging to provide the two lanes. This junction had been built when the two routes towards the city were first dualled, and replaced a somewhat windy course for the old A92. The older junction was a simple fork which still survives at Checkbar / Marywell. The fork had latterly been turned to for a straighter T junction where the roundabout now is, but the original junction can still be seen a little to the south. The A92 was renumbered as the A90 through Aberdeen in the 1990s, but regained its original number in 2018 when the AWPR opened.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
A92	Perth, Dundee, Forfar	was A90
A92	Aberdeen	was A90
A956	Inverness (A96), Banchory (A93), Peterhead, Airport (A90)	opened 12/12/18
A956	Aberdeen Harbour

Links

legislation.gov.uk

• The A92 Trunk Road (Stonehaven to Charleston) (Prohibition and 40mph Speed Limit) Order 2019