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Safety review to be carried out at notorious A96 junction at Huntly


By Kyle Ritchie

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A safety review of a “terrifying” junction on the A96 is to be carried out after a MSP raised concerns that lives were being put at risk when crossing it.

MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Alexander Burnett, wrote to Transport Scotland following a spate of crashes at Huntly’s Tesco junction and A920 Dufftown junction.

He has called for upgrades to be made, including the possibility of a roundabout, over fears that lives are being put in danger.

A petition has also been lodged, supported by Mr Burnett and signed by 830 people, calling for the junction to be redesigned.

In a response to Mr Burnett’s letter, Transport Scotland has revealed that recent incidents have prompted the junction to be included in next year’s annual road safety review.

New signage warning oncoming motorists of the junction’s dangers is to also be completed by April next year.

Mr Burnett has called on the review to be carried out sooner to prevent further serious collisions from happening.

He said: “Every day that passes with nothing being done puts more and more people at risk when crossing this terrifying junction.

“While I welcome a safety review taking place, recent crashes have shown that action must be taken now not a year later.

Aberdeenshire West MSP Alexander Burnett.
Aberdeenshire West MSP Alexander Burnett.

“Motorists take their life into their own hands when crossing the junction which is why I will continue to push for this review to be done sooner.

“The SNP Government can’t allow the Huntly Tesco junction to become the new Laurencekirk junction because that’s what it’s fast becoming.

“For the safety of road users, it’s vital safety improvements take place without years of continuous delays from the Scottish Government.”

The response from Hugh Gillies, director of roads at Transport Scotland, said: “The junction on the A96 with the A920 has not been identified as a site of concern from our annual road safety review in recent years, with no injury collisions previously having been recorded at this location since 2013.

“However, a review of the recent collision history has highlighted that two serious injury collisions have occurred here in the last 12 months.

“This does not include the most recent collision which took place on July 1, 2021, which Police Scotland are still investigating.

“As previously mentioned, we screen all locations where three or more personal-injury accidents have occurred in a three-year period and this location is likely to be identified in next year’s annual road safety review which is due to be concluded in August 2022.”


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