Minister outlines schedule for dual A9
THE long-awaited upgrade of the A9 to a full dual carriageway will begin in 2017, it has been announced.
The road from Perth to Inverness, which has seen many serious accidents over the years, is scheduled to be completely dualled by 2025.
Transport minister Keith Brown visited Morayshire yesterday to open the A96 Fochabers to Mosstodloch bypass, completed early and on budget at £31.5 million.
He then stopped off in Perth to announce the 2017 construction start date for the A9 Luncarty to Birnam scheme.
Mr Brown said such construction projects simply did not happen overnight, but revealed the design work was already well under way in the hope of achieving a 2025 opening target.
Detailed exhibitions were being held this week to keep the public informed, he added.
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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Comments
There are 18 comments to this article
Page 1 of 2
Rob Royston
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 03:58 AM17 Hearthammer============ They have another excuse now for holding back more on the Loch Lomond A82 upgrade, the National Park status. I think it should be possible to tunnel some of this route, they seem to have done loads of that with EU money in other countries, so I can't see how it does not happen here, is our rock harder or what?========================================================== I would not spend any money on the A82 North of Loch lomond. It should be possible to build a tunnel under the Corryyarrick Pass to join the North West to the new A9. The new Scotland will need good transport links to develop our abundant resources.
Hearthammer
Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 08:22 AMThe problem with the A82 is the location, believe it or not, especially around Loch Lomond. Hills on one side and the loch on the other, the hills would have to be dynamited to allow for the road to be widened.If that was done, the road would be out of commission for years. The worst part of the road, just after Tarbert for about 10 miles, is easily driven if you're careful. While I would love to see it widened, I just don't see how!
Kobi
Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 12:17 AM#14 http:**news.bbc.co.uk*1*hi*scotland*highlands_and_islands*6704115.stm Replace each * with a backslash.
mordor
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 07:48 PMI concur with those who say that the trams are a joke. The A9 should have been finished 30 years ago but none of us have a TARDIS. I am just glad that money is actually being spent on something decent rather than numptie vanity projects like the trams.PS Can Edinburgh please get rid of all those traffic calming measures that are actually increasing rather than decreasing congestion? I sometimes think that they are putting these things in place so that money can be spent rather than for usefulness and necessity.
The West Awake
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 07:37 PM10 "Except that the SNP at the time of the trams decision claimed that it would not affect the A9 dualling" What? At the time the SNP opposed the trams and did have the A9 as a priority transport project, of course it affected their decision, - they couldn't pay for both massive projects. Show me evidence they said what you say they did. All I remember was them saying how much it DID affect their decision - in fact determined it. I have my doubts, sir, but will stand corrected if you back up what you say.
samcoldstream
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 03:32 PMYesterday, the £31 million offline Fochabers - Mosstodloch bypasses, at a notorious accident blackspot on the A96, with through road congestion, was opened several months ahead of schedule. (Source BBC News) It was planned and statutory procedures carried were out by the last Labour - LibDem Scottish Executive in 2005. It has taken to 2012 to have the road project completed. Road building is a slow process in Scotland as the M8, M74, and M80 have proved. ALL these motorways were first planned and commenced over 50 years ago. The M74 has only recently been completed, the M80 is due to be opened, but the last length of the M8 is still incomplete? The main motorways and trunk road network in England and Wales was completed 18 years ago. Why did the previous Scots Tory administrations at the now defunct Scottish Office, and LabourLibDem Scottish executives not make these major motorway routes a priority? (Source: Scottish Home and Health Department Archives)
Alternative (High Octane) Fuel Head
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 03:10 PM#10: "We all know the nationalists should hang their heads in shame over their transport decisions." ....and so should the labour party. Let us not forget who started the decline of Edinburgh with their criminally stupid anti-car measures. Let's not forget who continued with the fuel price escalator until the UK ended up with the most expensive fuel in the world.
Lachie Mhor
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 03:09 PMToo little - Too late.
Kobi
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 03:03 PM#7 "Where would we be if the unionists hadn't forced through the Trams debacle, would we have already started the A9" Except that the SNP at the time of the trams decision claimed that it would not affect the A9 dualling. Where they lying then or are you wrong now? We all know the nationalists should hang their heads in shame over their transport decisions.
Kobi
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 03:01 PM#6 £647.9million was spent on the A9 during the Conservative Government from May 1979 to May 1997, £11.5million was spent during the Labour Government and the then LabourLiberal Scottish Executive from May 1997 to May 2007, and £53.73million has been spent since May 2007 by the SNP Government. All figures are in real terms (December 2010). Over half of the expenditure on the A9 since May 2007 is as a result of schemes first announced by the previous LabourLiberal Scottish Executive (Ballinluig Junction and Helmsdale to Ord of Caithness, both announced in 2002). (Source: PQ Feb 2011)
Alternative (High Octane) Fuel Head
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 01:08 PMWhilst its a great pity to see the death knell of a challenging, lovely stretch of road, at least they are spending the money on ROADS as opposed to the latest green numpty project.
The West Awake
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 12:31 PM3 - I am also keen to see work on the A82, I'm in Argyll and this major western artery is a disgrace, We have a set of "temporary" traffic lights at Loch Lomond which is over 30 years old! Where would we be if the unionists hadn't forced through the Trams debacle, would we have already started the A9 and now be on the A82? We don't know for sure, but we all know the unionists should hang their heads in shame over their transport decisions. Fat chance though.
samcoldstream
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 10:59 AMBetween 1972 and 1986, Tory and Labour Governments carried out piecemeal dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness costing £540 million whilst at the same time spent £33 billion on building the 196 mile M25 orbital motorway around London. The cost to the exchequer was reduced because several PFI contracts totalling £9.5 billion were kept off the Chancellors accounts. (Source: Civil Engineer ingMagazine)
AndrewJohnYounger
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 10:09 AMReal scandal its taken all these years and there are plenty infrastructure projects awaiting with a majority should seen completion decades ago.
Family guy
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 08:03 AMThe A9, for clarity, runs from almost Glasgow to Thurso. The A9 from Glasgow to Perth is dual already. The dualling would be a welcome project and could perhaps stimulate a bit of repopulation and industry in an area of Scotland that others non elected wrap in aspic. One thing we are not short of in Scotland is emptiness.
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