Campaigners press transport secretary Fiona Hyslop for talks over ‘dangerous’ Huntly A96 A920 junction near Tesco
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HUNTLY community figures have pushed Scotland’s transport secretary for a meeting about a “dangerous” A96 junction, amid claims a £400,000 safety scheme made “no material difference”.
Last month (March 5), Corporal David Thorne of RAF Lossiemouth died in a crash at the site near Tesco, which links the A96 and the A920 Dufftown Road.
Recent figures showed the traffic flow at the junction has increased by 28 per cent over the last four years.
A letter signed by Huntly Community Council, local councillors Robbie Withey (Independent) and Lauren Knight (Conservative), and Aberdeenshire West MSP Alexander Burnett (Conservative), pressed transport secretary Fiona Hyslop for talks “as a matter of urgency”.
Included in the letter, are claims that the junction has seen “a lack of progress in recent years” and that “far more ministerial engagement is required”.
In June last year, we revealed plans for “safety interventions” at the junction, from road operator Amey which included resurfacing and a flashing sign that warned of turning traffic.
The now-completed scheme cost around £400,000 and Mr Burnett, penning the letter, argued that “no substantial improvements” have been made at the site since he began campaigning about it three years ago.
Last September, we revealed that the A96 between Huntly and Aberdeen was one of the most-dangerous sections of the A96 over the last five years.
The letter reads: “Having initially been told there were no concerns about the junction, I am glad that after my campaigning and a local petition which gathered over 800 signatures, Transport Scotland designated this junction as a site for investigation in 2021.
“Three years on however, no substantial improvements have been made to the junction, whilst £400,000 has been spent on resurfacing the road and putting in electronic signs that have made no material difference.”
Mr Burnett, in the co-signed letter, also proposed that a roundabout be created at the junction to address the risk posed by cars crossing, or merging with, the A96.
“My preference is for a roundabout to be constructed at this junction, which although it would cause significant disruption during construction, would remove the fundamental dangers of this junction,” he writes.
“I note that some of my constituents have called for a 40mph speed limit to be introduced on this section of the road, although significant work would still be needed to alter the design of the junction, even with a speed limit in place.
“Given the lack of progress made on this in recent years, it is clear that far more ministerial engagement is required on this issue.
“I would therefore like to invite you to meet with me, local councillors and the community council in Huntly to discuss this junction and what you will do to improve it as a matter of urgency.”
Plans to fully dual the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road by 2030 were first announced in December 2011 by the Scottish Government in its Infrastructure Investment Plan.
An SNP/Green government review under the Bute House power-sharing agreement, that could see the project scrapped, has been delayed three times since December 2022.
The Scottish Government refuses to address whether the 2030 deadline will be met, but Grampian Online sister paper The Northern Scot revealed emails showing top officials and politicians agreeing to scrap the deadline from policy documents in 2020.
North East MSP Liam Kerr raised the matter at Holyrood, with the chamber hearing that the Scottish Government’s dualling pledge had been “abandoned”.
