Pictures of Three Towns Bypass under construction in 2004

These great photos from the Herald in May 2004, show the £26 million project taking shape from above.

Locals had campaigned for years for the bypass to be built to cut down on traffic heading through the centre of Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston.

After Scottish Government approval, work finally began in 2003.

The new Pennyburn roundabout (Image: Newsquest)

And by the time these photos were taken, more than 2.5km of earthworks had been laid and surfacing had begun.

The whole construction saw 5.2km of new dual carriageway and 1.2km of single carriageway laid.

Work was carried out in a joint venture between AWG Construction and Mowlem, who won the lucrative contract the previous year.

By May 2004, the project was two weeks behind schedule. Not bad considering the scale of the work.

The project also involved constructing a tunnel below the Ardrossan to Largs railway, which saw residents in homes in the north side of town being paid compensation for four days of 24-hour work, under spotlights which lit up the night like daytime.

To be fair, most residents had to wait for years before the compensation was finally paid out.

What do you remember about the bypass construction work? And do you think the Three Towns benefitted from the project?

Let us know in your comments.