A9 dualling

[Nwallace]

To head south from Bankfoot, you drive under the bridge and take a long left hand corner to join on the south bound carriageway.
To add a carriageway on to of that you'd have a curve suitable for taking vehicles off the A9 onto the road into Bankfoot but not the other way.

Have pinned up the OS map on Bing so you can see why I think there needs to be a bit of work to get a Southbound on ramp in place
https://www.bing.com/maps?osid=a122bd67 ... orm=S00027

Although I can't draw a new parallel Southbound carriageway; it would cross over the current link road to bankfoot where the existing road is heading north-west
It would take a ridiculous radius on a curve to bring that round to pointing south in the space available.
The land take for the southbound embankment widening would probably mean a change to the Ardonachie junction too as I'd expect the bridge's splays to be there.

[Duncan macknight]

Exhibiting for the A9 Dalraddy to Slochd DMRB stage 3 assessment held on 30th November in Aviemore community centre 12-8pm and the 1st December in Carrbridge from 11am to 5pm. Should be interesting what they've come up with...

[Nwallace]

Just looking back at the preferred route material from March 2017.
https://www.transport.gov.scot/publicat ... -dualling/

From the 1:2500 maps
The only questionable bit was An Slochd beag where the 2 roads cross the railway; the rest is clearly just widening either side with a lot of digging required to make a cutting and one bit shown as neither cut not bank.

The only other real noticeable change is the Aviemore south junction being moved south.
Wonder if there could have been scope for shorten the A95...

[B9127]

https://www.transport.gov.scot/news/fur ... -dualling/ More progress - Killiecrankie to Glen Garry Draft Orders and confirmation of route line for a 13 mile section

[Duncan macknight]

Attended the A9 exhibition for dalraddy to slochd, very interesting what’s being proposed at the hollow with a lay-by being added on the the new southbound carriageway aswell as a realigned NCN7 with the old road retained for access as it has been for 30+ years! A new southbound bridge will be built over the HML and a LILO built for the slochd road. Multiple underpasses are to be built along the road for access to the forestry tracks and some connected to the new junctions. Did ask about the 40mph speed limit being imposed along dualling sections and they said that cause this is a rather long section it may be split up into bits and depending on however many other sections are under construction at the same time.

[Altnabreac]

Just going to put an updated list of the schemes here showing where they all are in the planning process (further up the better)

Complete
A9 Kincraig - Dalraddy (September 2017)

Under Construction
none

Contract Let
none

Procurement Underway
A9 Luncarty - Pass of Birnam (March 2017)

Made Orders Published
none

Public Local Inquiry (PLI) ordered / underway
none

Draft Orders published
A9 Killiecrankie to Glen Garry (November 2017)

DMRB Stage 3 exhibition held (Interim detailed design consultation)
A9 Dalwhinnie to Crubenmore (October 2016)
A9 Tomatin to Moy (March 2017)
A9 Pitlochry to Killiecrankie (March 2017)
A9 Dalraddy to Slochd (November 2017)

DMRB Stage 2 (Preferred Route) designs published
A9 Glen Garry to Dalwhinnie (Nov 2016)
A9 Tay Crossing to Ballinluig (Feb 2017)
A9 Crubenmore to Kincraig (March 2017)

Co-creative Process (community engagement on different options)
A9 Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing (September 2017)

[B9127]

That looks like Killiecrankie to Glen Garry will the next out to tender ?

[Altnabreac]

That looks like Killiecrankie to Glen Garry will the next out to tender ?

Probably although it depends if it has to go to a PLI.

I'd expect to see draft orders soon for Dalwhinnie to Crubenmore and it is perhaps the least controversial section so might make it to Made Orders without a PLI and overtake any sections stuck in that process.

[Duncan macknight]

New videos posted for junction options (really just bridges) for Tay Crossing to Ballinluig. The most surprising part of this is a "interim Roundabout" probably due to the fact that Pass of Birnam to Tay crossing is quite a bit behind schedule.
Kindallachan North https://youtu.be/Dv6QvP-wtow
Guay south https://youtu.be/FlGRuvKciRg

[Glen]

The roundabout at the south end of this scheme seems to be to cater for U-turn movements to access the left-in, left-out junctions, which will later be catered for by the GSJs on the Birnam to Tay Crossing scheme.
Without the roundabout there would be traffic performing U-turns at the transition from dual to single carriageway.

[GrahameCase]

I seriously hope option B or D is picked from these preliminarily designs for the tummel bridge https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/33 ... h-2017.pdf

[Duncan macknight]

I seriously hope option B or D is picked from these preliminarily designs for the tummel bridge https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/33 ... h-2017.pdf

It all depends on who will be cooperative in terms of land and environmental impact. Option d would be probably the most spectacular thing on the A9 but construction would have a big impact. I would of thought the A9 would be widened on the southbound side owing to the alightment of the S2 to D2 in that section.

[Altnabreac]

I seriously hope option B or D is picked from these preliminarily designs for the tummel bridge https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/33 ... h-2017.pdf

I suspect D is the most likely choice. B is very visually intrusive for the existing carriageway and C is very expensive. A is the simplest option but doesn't really meet modern environmental standards.

The bridge designer gave a talk at ICE Edinburgh earlier in the year and didn't give anything away about final choices but it is interesting how challenging it is to match existing structures that date from a time of different standards.

[Duncan macknight]

https://youtu.be/uWG_Oom9tAM visualisation for Killiecrankie to Glen Garry.

[Altnabreac]

Tay Crossing - Ballinluig has now moved on to interim Phase 3 with a new exhibition in early December:
https://www.transport.gov.scot/publicat ... -dualling/

Also spotted an interesting update in some Cairngorms National Park Authority minutes from last week:
http://cairngorms.co.uk/resource/docs/b ... Report.pdf

A9 Dualling project – The Kincraig to Dalraddy section was opened on 30 September 2017. The next formal public consultation stage for the section from Killiekrankie to Glen Garry started on 28 November and will be reported to the 15 December Planning Committee. Formal consultation on two further sections (7-Glen Garry to Dalwhinnie and 8-Dalwhinnie to Crubenmore) is programmed to start from late December and over January. The formal stage publishes preferred options, Environmental Statements and extent of compulsory purchase orders. CNPA staff have committed considerable effort into minimising the impacts of the works through informal feedback on Environmental Statements and advice on the significant and detailed challenges linked to habitat restoration and maintaining landscape qualities. In
relation to planning for the tourism and business improvements associated with A9 project, HIE have developed a new proposed approach and CNPA are keen to see this work progress.

This suggests that Glen Garry to Dalwhinnie is going to skip the interim Phase 3 exhibition and move straight to draft orders. This makes sense given that there are only about 3 small property groups affected (Drumochter Lodge, Balsporran Cottages and Dalnaspidal Lodge) and the team will have been able to engage with all the landowners fairly simply as I suspect nearly all the land required belongs to either Ralia Estate, Dalnacardoch & Gaich Estate, Dalnaspidal Estate, Loch Ericht Estate or Network Rail.

So we should get two more sets of Draft Orders in the next few weeks and by Easter 2018 we'll know if any of these three sections have made it through without needing a PLI.

Complete
A9 Kincraig - Dalraddy (September 2017)

Under Construction
none

Contract Let
none

Procurement Underway
A9 Luncarty - Pass of Birnam (March 2017)

Made Orders Published
none

Public Local Inquiry (PLI) ordered / underway
none

Draft Orders published
A9 Killiecrankie to Glen Garry (November 2017)

DMRB Stage 3 exhibition held (Interim detailed design consultation)
A9 Dalwhinnie to Crubenmore (October 2016) (draft orders expected Dec 17/Jan 18)
A9 Tomatin to Moy (March 2017)
A9 Pitlochry to Killiecrankie (March 2017)
A9 Dalraddy to Slochd (November 2017)
A9 Tay Crossing to Ballinluig (December 2017)

DMRB Stage 2 (Preferred Route) designs published
A9 Glen Garry to Dalwhinnie (Nov 2016) (draft orders expected Dec 17/Jan 18)
A9 Crubenmore to Kincraig (March 2017)

Co-creative Process (community engagement on different options)
A9 Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing (September 2017)

[A9NWIL]

I know this may seem slightly off topic, but with the discussions on expressways in England with the HE document, if it goes through I wonder if the A9 might get tidied up in the end so that its fully GSJed from the M9 end point at Sterling to Inverness? Then it would become the A9(M)!
Of course thats 10 years away, but it would be interesting as it could become the UK's most northerly motorway! Not even being initially planned to be motorway either!

[Jeni]

I know this may seem slightly off topic, but with the discussions on expressways in England with the HE document, if it goes through I wonder if the A9 might get tidied up in the end so that its fully GSJed from the M9 end point at Sterling to Inverness? Then it would become the A9(M)!
Of course thats 10 years away, but it would be interesting as it could become the UK's most northerly motorway! Not even being initially planned to be motorway either!

No it won't

[Robert Kilcoyne]

I know this may seem slightly off topic, but with the discussions on expressways in England with the HE document, if it goes through I wonder if the A9 might get tidied up in the end so that its fully GSJed from the M9 end point at Sterling to Inverness? Then it would become the A9(M)!
Of course thats 10 years away, but it would be interesting as it could become the UK's most northerly motorway! Not even being initially planned to be motorway either!

No it won't

You would need to provide a route for non-motorway traffic which would have been able to use the A9 up to now, and there are some areas where the A9 is the only route for miles around (e.g. Drumochter Pass, Slochd). The A9 is also part of a long distance diversion if there are problems in the Fort William and Lochaber area whereby the A82 is closed; there are points where there is no road (even unclassified) between the A9 and the A82.

[Altnabreac]

I know this may seem slightly off topic, but with the discussions on expressways in England with the HE document, if it goes through I wonder if the A9 might get tidied up in the end so that its fully GSJed from the M9 end point at Sterling to Inverness? Then it would become the A9(M)!
Of course thats 10 years away, but it would be interesting as it could become the UK's most northerly motorway! Not even being initially planned to be motorway either!

No it won't

You would need to provide a route for non-motorway traffic which would have been able to use the A9 up to now, and there are some areas where the A9 is the only route for miles around (e.g. Drumochter Pass, Slochd). The A9 is also part of a long distance diversion if there are problems in the Fort William and Lochaber area whereby the A82 is closed; there are points where there is no road (even unclassified) between the A9 and the A82.

If you walked coast to coast from Onich to Perthumie Bay north of Stonehaven and you would only cross 7 metalled roads:
A82, A9, A93, B974, B979, A90, (plus the AWPR from next year)

Walking across that strip of Scotland you wouldn't cross any unclassified roads and more than 50% of your road crossings would be on Trunk Roads.

[Duncan macknight]

I can understand people wanting it to be a motorway due to the fact that it’s going to be built to such a high standard but a LAR will be needed in places where that’s not feasible. The existing road has a motorway like alignment anyway so that’s not going to be changed. Also I imagine if the roundabouts will be removed sometime soon then that means (realistically) that from Stirling the road will be continued for 147ish miles to the Tore roundabout. That’s a cool thought!