A multi-million pound contract has been awarded today to take forward work for the first section of the Scottish Government’s ambitious A96 dualling programme.
Transport Scotland today announced the intention to award the £30 million design contract for the Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) scheme to Jacobs UK Ltd, subject to a mandatory standstill period.
Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities Keith Brown said:
“The Scottish Government has given a clear commitment to dual the A96 which will see delivery of around 88 miles of upgraded road between Inverness and Aberdeen, a huge task but one we are relishing.
“Dualling the A96 requires careful, in-depth planning and design so that we deliver the right scheme and help tackle congestion, make journey times more reliable and, crucially, improve road safety.
“This £30 million design contract for the 19-mile section between Inverness and Nairn which includes a bypass at Nairn, reinforces our determination to invest in this road and all of our city-to-city roads, to bring them up to full dual carriageway standard.
"Design work will start soon to develop the preferred option which was on public display last October, and look to publish draft road orders for the scheme in 2016. In addition to this, we are also pushing ahead with early engineering and environmental assessment work for the entire A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen, and will be holding exhibitions along the route this spring to let the public see and comment on our plans.”
As the Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) scheme is further progressed, individuals, communities and businesses affected by the work will be kept fully informed and their vital feedback taken into account.
- More on Transport Scotland site here
6 comments:
Great - positive progress at last. I just hope they keep up the momentum and we see this becoming a reality sooner rather than later.
SNP Government - Keeps its promises - again. Opponents say that they do it deliberately. Excellent news for Nairn
I thought the bypass was all down to oor Graham and Dan the man? Plenty of faded Lib Dem car stickers for the bypass still to be seen
Only 20 years to go.
Nothing but an SNP Vanity project.. how can they justify paying nearly 1/2 billion pounds for a road that is not required!
The award of this £30M design contract is for the the initial 30km stretch of the overall 141km dualling of the A96. This significant move forward, since the publication of the STPR in 2008, should be welcomed. I highlight four of the nine justifications for the A96 dualling noted by Transport Scotland: Improve Road Safety, Improve the Environmental Conditions and Reduce Severance in Bypassed Communities, Offer the opportunity to Improve Pedestrian, Cyclist and Equestrian Facilities, and Improve Access and Connections to Public Transport. I note from the Transport Scotland Preferred Option leaflet the description referred to two 15km sections: (1) Nairn Bypass and (2) Inverness to Gollanfield. It is necessary for the community of Nairn, and surrounding area, to lobby the Scottish Government to seek the section of the A96 dualling between Nairn West Junction and Nairn East Junction (approximately 9km) to be IMPLEMENTED FIRST in order to secure early benefits to the community that currently has trunk road traffic passing through Nairn.
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