Transport Scotland A9/A96 Preferred Option Public Exhibitions
Transport Scotland has exhibited its Preferred Option for the A9/A96 Inshes to Smithton scheme. The details are available here and feedback can be given.
Transport Scotland has agreed to two common sense measures:
1. the additional lane on the southbound carriageway of the A9, corresponding to the northbound carriageway, and
2. a replacement overbridge on the B9006.
These are urgently needed to prevent the dangerous queuing of stationary traffic on the A9 at busy times.
As the overbridge will take some time to progress, meanwhile The Highland Council is implementing Westhill Community Council’s long-standing suggestion to widen the overbridge with two lanes westward, to reduce the bottleneck at this point and thereby to help to reduce the dangerous stationary queuing on the A9. This work should commence in April 2018.
However, this work by The Highland Council could be co-ordinated with Transport Scotland providing the additional southbound lane on the A9.
We encourage the public to write to Transport Scotland to progress this part of the scheme as ‘a stand alone project’ which is more or less independent of the rest of the A9/A96 Inshes to Smithton scheme. The main reason is safety as the current situation is an accident waiting to happen.