Updates to A90(N) and A952 road corridor study get underway
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Nestrans, the regional transport partnership for the north-east of Scotland, has commissioned work to review and update previous studies on the A90(N) and A952 Ellon to Peterhead and Fraserburgh corridors.
Consultants Stantec are undertaking a review of the previous evidence, bringing this up to date to support the case for future investment and advise on future stages of work.
The original studies, completed in 2017, looked at a ‘case for change’ and option development to address road safety, journey times, and reliability north of Aberdeen.
However, since completion of this work there have been wider changes that have affected travel in the area, including the opening of the AWPR and Balmedie-Tipperty dualling, the impact of Covid-19 on traffic flows and journey times and new housing and businesses in the communities linked by the routes. There have also been changes in national policy with respect to transport investment.
There is a long standing and widespread interest in seeing improvements to the A90(N) and A952 corridors amongst the communities and businesses in the area.
This is reflected in Nestrans’ Regional Transport Strategy, published in November 2021.
Previous work undertaken by partners demonstrated a strong economic case for improvement of the two trunk road roundabouts at Ellon, and junction improvements at Toll of Birness and Cortes, forming the first stages of a longer-term improvement strategy on the route.
The new work involves a review and update of the evidence base which supported the previous appraisals. At this stage this includes:
· A desktop review of wider policy and existing data
· Traffic surveys to examine behaviour and volumes of traffic on the network
· Engagement with selected stakeholders, at this stage including freight, ports and harbours, public transport, emergency services and wider business/economic development interests
· Advice on tailoring subsequent stages of work to meet future requirements.
The evidence review is funded through the Aberdeen City Region Deal through their support of a Strategic Transport Appraisal.
Cllr John Crawley, chair of Nestrans, welcomed the study moving into the stakeholder consultation phase: “The focus of the current piece of work is to capture the key changes since the earlier studies were completed. Ensuring we have a correct understanding of the current situation puts us in the best position to support the case for future investment, and frame future stages of work.”
While the current engagement is not focussing on the wider public at this stage, if regular users on the corridor between Ellon, Peterhead and Fraserburgh feel that they can provide evidence of problems or issues related to their journeys, or the impact that these issues cause, then they are welcome to contribute by contacting the study team: A90A952Corridor@stantec.com
It is anticipated that the findings from the current phase of work will be reported later this year.
