Scottish road upgrade being planned

Plans have been unveiled for a proposed road upgrade project in Scotland. These plans show the preferred route for the upgrade to the A96 between Nairn and Fochabers, towns which lie to the east of Inverness on Scotland’s North East coast. The project is being planned by Transport Scotland and will see the 45km road section being upgraded to dual carriageway status.

The work will include building new crossings over the Aberdeen to Inverness rail links, as well as over the Spey, Findhorn and Lossie rivers. Building a bridge over the Spey River will be subject to particularly strict environmental requirements as this river is central to some of Scotland’s most historic whisky distilleries.

Upgrading the A96 is long overdue as the present road does not cope well with traffic demand. The route is also subject to closures in winter, with the upgrade likely to make it easier to clear when conditions are severe. At present just 22km of the A96 route between Inverness and Aberdeen is of dual carriageway status. The plans call for the remaining 138km of the 160km A96 route between Inverness and Aberdeen to be upgraded to dual carriageway status.