Southern A9 dualling contract awarded
Transport bosses have announced Balfour Beatty is to be tasked with constructing a vital section of the A9 dualling.
Balfour Beatty won the construction contract for the £96 million projet to dual 9.5 kilometres of the A9 from Luncarty to Pass of Birnam.
This is the most southerly point of the Scottish Government’s ambitious £3 billion plans to dual the entirety of the A9 between Perth and Inverness.
Michael Matheson, cabinet secretary for transport, said: “This marks another significant milestone in the timeline of this major transport infrastructure project for Scotland to upgrade 80 miles of single carriageway between Perth and Inverness.
“This investment will vastly improve connectivity between the Highlands and islands and Scotland’s central belt, delivering far reaching benefits to the wider Scottish economy.
“The dualling of the A9 will create hundreds of new jobs throughout the construction phases which will leave a lasting legacy of a highly skilled workforce, bolstering Scotland’s construction industry.
“The project will also act as a catalyst to attract significant inward investment and stimulate continued growth of our business communities, especially the tourism industry along this key route.
“The Scottish Government is committed to delivering this £3bn infrastructure improvement project to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness by 2025.”
Balfour Beatty was chosen from a shortlist of four bidders, which included Dragados SA, Bros Civil Engineering and a joint venture between Farrans Construction and Roadbridge.
Hector MacAulay, Balfour Beatty’s managing director for Scotland, said: “We are delighted to be part of the major programme to upgrade the A9.
“We look forward to delivering this important infrastructure project which will bring travel and safety improvements to all road users whilst generating significant benefit to the local community and economy.”
The dualling of the 9.5km Luncarty to Pass of Birnam stretch will include the construction of four new overbridges to maintain local access and the widening of an existing underbridge, as well as the provision of a new side road bridge.
Once the Luncarty to Pass of Birnam section is completed, it will mean there will be 15km of continuous dualled carriageway all the way from the Inveralmond roundabout in Perth to Birnam.