I'm assuming this is a different Fergus Ewing than the one who was Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity between May 2016 and June 2018, responsible for the A9 dualling project, and the Transport Minister's boss. That Minister being one Humza Yousaf).
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Is dualling the A9 really that bad?
(597 posts)-
Posted 1 year ago #
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Officials recommended that Ministers pursue Option 2. A particular concern being that pausing the programme could lead to the lapsing of some statutory authorisations, particularly relating to land acquisition. Ministers have three years from the date on which they publish confirmation of a Compulsory Purchase Order to implement the Order, i.e. take title to the land. The Order falls if title is not taken within that three-year period. Once the land is acquired, there is no time limit for development to begin
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New report
Posted 11 months ago # -
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More pedestrians & cyclists were killed on the streets of Glasgow in the first half of the year than die every year on the A9, but somehow we can find £8bn for the latter, just about enough to rebuild every school and hospital north of the fault, or 500 miles of new railway
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https://twitter.com/david_mccraw/status/1737455749905674254?
Posted 11 months ago # -
So the Scottish Government remains committed to the A9 dualling. The project completion date is pushed back to 2035.
The estimated total scheme cost of A9 Dualling is £3.7bn at April 2023 prices. When adjusted for inflation, that is equivalent to £2.45bn at April 2008 prices, which is well within the original cost estimate of £3bn at 2008 prices.
Nice to see that major road projects get cheaper when you wait 15 years. Especially as large parts of it will now be privately financed - which has an (ahem) chequered history when it comes to offering value for money.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Has the ‘business case’ been revised (ever)?
Posted 11 months ago # -
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Cab Sec for #NetZero @MairiMcAllan announces new road building citing #safety as justification.
But is a single multi-billion pound road scheme the most effective way to save lives?
1 road = 120 years of @scotgov budget for all road safety measures for all of rest of Scotland.
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Posted 11 months ago # -
STV just said that rail fares are going up 9% in Scotland.
Combine that with a four lane A9 versus a single track / one lane railway and I think traffic will increase on one and fall on the other. Particularly as EVs are cheap to run.Posted 11 months ago # -
@chdot - no updated business case that I am aware of. However, there seems to have been a significant downgrade in the predicted road safety benefits of the dualling scheme.
The Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition wrote to the Scottish Parliament's petitions committee today (20/12/23), stating:
The improved safety expected from dualling is a crucial benefit from A9 Dualling. It is forecast that A9 Dualling will result in an average of 3 fewer fatality casualties and 6 fewer serious injury casualties each year.
However. the 2016 Case for Investment (page 55), states that the dualling will result in 6+ fewer deaths per year.
The road safety benefits of dualling now seem to be half of what they were. It could be that these new figures take account of the average speed cameras and 50mph HGV speed limit, which did not feature in the original calculations.
However the new figures were worked out, they represent a significant reduction in any financialised "benefits" of the dualling programme.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Thanks
Posted 11 months ago # -
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#ScotBudget & #ClimateCrisis
The Scot Govt's own carbon assessment table, accompanying the budget, classes roughly 75% of its #TrunkRoad expenditure as
"highly negative"
for climate emissionsCarbon assessment spreadsheet
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https://twitter.com/spokeslothian/status/1738178776339566754
Posted 11 months ago # -
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Searing stuff from @shelterscotland @alisonj_WATSON in today’s Herald on the factors and political decisions underpinning the housing crisis. https://heraldscotland.com/politics/24158523.humza-yousaf-no-credibility-says-shelter-scotland-boss/ including prioritising unaffordable tarmac (A9) over affordable housing
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https://twitter.com/streetwurrier/status/1764205233909968971
Posted 8 months ago # -
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A9 Dualling website launched - you can register for updates through the link
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Posted 8 months ago # -
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Nicola Sturgeon has apologised for the Scottish Government’s inability to dual the A9 by 2025, saying she holds “deep regret” at the number of people who have died on the major road.
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Posted 6 months ago # -
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Average Speed Camera Update
Eric Dunion. System performing well, stable, offending rate low. No significant concerns. Once traffic flow restores, may see increase in offending rate. GK queried whether the group could raise potential sites with ED for enforcement over holiday period. ED suggested increased traffic levels over holiday period. KMcK success south of Inverness – any potential for north of Inverness as an option. SW confirmed site selection would be subject to annual site selection process. ED confirmed stats are under preparation for next annual process. Any sites identified would likely be delivered in the next financial year. DR – use the site regularly but doesn’t see any need for cameras. MB raised point to note, Cross Tay Road project – PKC 3km realignment project, will have average speed cameras installed. Once A9 is dualled, there is no plan to install cameras by default, will be subject to annual site selection process.
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Posted 6 months ago # -
Just posting this as I thought it was interesting...
When looking for something else on Streetview I couldn't work out what was going on here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/jR9qEQTnKJmCs2jh6
A new bridge getting built? But what for? Doesn't line up with the A9 if it is related to the dualling project.
Turns out it is related to the A9 dualling. It is a new railway bridge being constructed to facilitate a new A9 junction. But the bridge is being built 'offsite':
https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/bridge-demolition-at-lynebeg-moy-inverness
Or, rather was, as it looks like it is now in place:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@57.3808143,-4.0477647,132m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en&entry=ttu
Interesting to see that, in an amazing bit of never-before-seen forward planning, it appears to have been built wide enough to support double railway tracks.
You can see the layout of the new A9 junction in the 2nd image on P2 here:
https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/42120/figure-518-a-c-proposed-scheme-construction-area.pdf
Posted 4 months ago # -
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The Scottish government says it intends to award Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd a contract worth almost £185m to upgrade a stretch of the A9 to dual carriageway.
It was forced to retender the work for the Tomatin to Moy section last year after only one contractor showed interest in the job.
The six-mile (10km) stretch of road, south of Inverness, forms part of wider delayed work to dual remaining sections of single carriageway between Inverness and Perth.
Ministers have set a target of upgrading Tomatin to Moy by the end of 2027.
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Posted 4 months ago # -
How quaint, that the cartoonist still thinks "cars" look like that
Posted 1 month ago # -
@neddie - cartoonist certainly deserves to lose his winter fuel payment! ;-)
Motorists still piling onto A9 despite road being 'too narrow'. Was on train going south and huge queue at Broxden (delaying buses at P&R too).
New Cross Tay link now joined and this should alter traffic with even more on Broxden and less on Friarton Bridge.Train 20 minutes late though as had to wait at Dunkeld for late train north. If only they could double track a bit.
Posted 1 month ago # -
@Laidback
Have they provided any active travel crossing over the Tay at the 'Destiny* Bridge'? It looks like there's a good bike path North out of Perth, following the Tay, as far as the bridge...
*Destined to regress towards the collapse of Earth's life support systems
Posted 1 month ago # -
https://www.perthtransportfutures.co.uk/news-and-events/perths-new-active-travel-network
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- 7km of new, 3m-wide, shared-use path will stretch along the entire route of the project
- A94 upgrade and widen shared-use footpath of 500m
- Green Bridge installation and 1300m of new path network linking into Highfield Woods
- 500m of new shared-use footway on the A93
- A 250m section of Stormontfield Road is now stopped-up to traffic and this links into a new shared-use footpath of 650m
- 120m on East side of River Tay and 90m on West side of River Tay have been upgraded with unbound surface on riverside paths
- 2km of shared-use footpath at the A9 has been upgraded and widened
- Redgorton now has 180m of improved bus stop access to the A9 and a new core path of 650m
- Seven signalised toucan crossings to facilitate Active Travel have been placed along the New Kingsway
"The project is also building a "Park-And-Choose" which seems to be......
.....a car park.
Posted 1 month ago # -
"Seven signalised toucan crossings to facilitate
Active Travelminimal interruptions to private motoring activities have been placed along the New Kingsway"FTFT
Posted 1 month ago # -
@neddie - thanks to @cb and @acsimpson for the info and interpretations
I think motorists in this area are pretty excited to have some more roads to spread out congestion on ;-)
As a frequent bus user on mainly the A94 and occasionally the A93 I can see that wide pavements are in where the new road meets them. I have cycled by the bridge works on the Perth to Blairgowrie route via Luncarty. That will be remained blighted by the very poor path that sneaks out under the A9 and railway before doubling back to head north. It's really poor despite the Inch route beside the Tay in Perth being a decent route out of city.
Perth seems to think that the Green Bridge at top of hill will be a must see park like the Jupiter Artland or something. Everyone drives everywhere rurally so if they can park close enough for free that may happen! As a bike and bus user I don't see Perth really doing too much to prioritise active travel in city. In fact this new project is handy as it will no doubt count as proof of the city's green agenda. Meanwhile the few cyclists I see in city have very narrow lanes on the A94 to Bridgend. Some just cycle on pavement on bridges into city.Plans for Perth’s enhanced active travel path network created as part of the Cross Tay Link Road project have been released, with over 12km of new or upgraded paths due to open in Spring 2025.
Due to open fully in Spring 2025 the new Active Travel Paths Network will include a central hub at the new Park-And-Choose allowing motorists to park just out of town and switch to foot, bike or wheelchair. Located at the old A9 site, this hub will include a picnic area with wheelchair accessible benches, car parking, cycle shelters and EV charging points.
Stretching from north of Scone along the New Kingsway and over Destiny Bridge, highlights for walkers, joggers and cyclists, will include the Green Bridge and Living Bench, the Wetland’s Bird Hide and picnic area, and the Souterrain which was excavated during initial earth works.
Posted 1 month ago # -
Cost of upgrading six miles of A9 rises to £308m
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyl7kr11gyo
The report also provides updates on other projects.
It said electrification of the Borders rail line and of the Fife Circle rail line had been paused due to an ongoing "refresh" of a decarbonisation action plan.
*golf clap*
Posted 1 month ago # -
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Here’s my theory. The dualling is no longer really about the communities along the road and the people who live there. That’s what we were told it was about when the SNP first committed to the project in 2007; they said it was about connecting the communities faster and better. But in the 17 years since that promise was made, the scheme has ground on and on (slowly and expensively) not because of the local people but because of other groups who have an interest in carrying on to the bitter end.
The first of them is government ministers. We now know, thanks to newly released cabinet papers, that John Swinney, good on him, expressed doubts about the A9 project way back in 2008. Speaking to Alex Salmond and the rest of the cabinet, he said engineering difficulties and problems in acquiring land meant the project might never be completed. But despite this, the SNP’s next manifesto repeated their promise: we are fully committed to dualling the A9.
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I appreciate all of this takes me dangerously close to agreeing with the Scottish Greens, which is never a good sign, but the point is that it is not too late, even now, to back out. The A9 will not be finished in 2035 (it will take a lot longer). And it will not cost £3bn (it will cost a lot more). The benefits will also be relatively small and will fade quickly. So accept that it should be scrapped. Accept that your trip up the A9 is going to take a wee bit longer. And chill.
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https://archive.ph/eJ3Re (Herald)
Posted 1 month ago # -
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A Scottish Parliament committee is 'concerned' over whether funding will be available for the dualling of the A9, having concluded disputes over cash 'significantly contributed' to the failure to achieve the 2025 target.
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(Herald)
Posted 3 weeks ago #
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