The Scottish Government has an “unwavering commitment” to dualling the A9 road by the end of 2035, despite the “complex nature” of the project, Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said.
Ms Hyslop spoke out as she announced a shortlist of contractors who will be invited to bid for the latest stage of the work, which eventually aims to convert the entire road from Perth to Inverness to dual carriageway.
Three firms: Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd, Wills Bros Civil Engineering Ltd and John Graham Construction Ltd; will be invited to bid for fourth section of the programme to upgrade a five-mile stretch of the roadway between Tay Crossing and Ballinluig.
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The Scottish Government recently awarded the contract for the Tomatin to Moy leg of the project to Balfour Beatty.
And speaking on a site visit to Tomatin in the Highlands, Ms Hyslop said the announcement of the shortlisted contractors for the next phase “demonstrates this Government’s unwavering commitment to progressing our A9 Dualling delivery plan to complete dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness by the end of 2035”.
Ministers had previously pledged the work would be completed by the end of 2025, but were later forced to admit the work would not be done until a decade later.
Ms Hyslop said the contract for the Tay Crossing to Ballinluig section should be awarded in the summer of 2025 – promising there would be “no let-up” in the work to upgrade the vital road.
The Transport Secretary said: “Today, I met with Balfour Beatty, the contractor responsible for construction of the Tomatin to Moy project. I have seen at first-hand the complex nature of the work required to deliver this construction contract.
“When construction gets underway in earnest on this section, it will roll continually until the A9 between Perth and Inverness is fully dualled.
“The Tay Crossing to Ballinluig project will be the next section to reach construction.”
Ms Hyslop continued: “We are committed to delivering a safe, reliable, resilient and dualled A9 between Perth and Inverness in line with our published delivery plan, which anticipates dualling to be operational by the end of 2035.
“Whilst the magnitude and complexities of this work are considerable, there will be no let-up on progressing the dualling programme.”
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