This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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A9 Contract Awarded
16/07/2004
The contract for work on the upgrade of the A9 between
the Allt Briste North to North of Ord of Caithness has been
awarded.
The contract for Phase 1 has gone to AWG Construction
Services Ltd and work will begin on August 9, 2004. The
cost of the scheme is £6 million.
Transport Minister Nicol Stephen said that the upgrade
will have journey time and road safety benefits.
Mr Stephen said:
"I am delighted to announce that work will begin on the
Phase 1 upgrade between Helmsdale and Ord of Caithness on
9th August. This is great news for local people and those
using this stretch of the A9 regularly.
"Work to upgrade 3 kilometres of this strategic route
linking Caithness with the rest of Scotland will benefit
the local economy, business and tourism. It will also make
for easier access to the ferry ports serving the Orkney
Islands.
"It will bring real benefits to users of the A9 by
improving journey times and providing a dedicated north
bound overtaking opportunity. This will reduce driver
frustration and help improve road safety."
The Executive is planning to improve this section of
road in two phases. It will improve the operation and
efficiency of the network and there will also be safety
benefits.
Phase 1 (Allt Briste North to North of Ord of Caithness)
scheme was advertised in the Official Journal of the
European Community (OJEC) on May 2, 2003 inviting
applications from firms interested in tendering for the
works. 3 firms pre-qualified for inclusion on the tender
list.
Tenders were invited on March 26, 2004 and all three
firms returned tenders by the extended tender return date
of June 4, 2004.
AWG Construction Services Ltd has been awarded the
contract and work will begin on August 9, 2004. The Design
Consultant is Scott Wilson Scotland Ltd who will also
supervise construction of the works.
The work comprises mainly of on-line widening of some 3
km of existing road. It includes an off-line section (new
section of road) at Allt Briste North, where a new culvert,
farm underpass and embankment across the valley will be
built. Over this section a 600 metre length of climbing
lane to improve overtaking opportunities will be
constructed. The improvement at Ord Burn, carried out in
1999, will be incorporated within this phase. One metre
hard strips flanking the carriageway have been incorporated
in the design to reflect comments from the cycling lobby.
Works are programmed to take one year to complete.
Phase 2 (Helmsdale to Allt Briste North) Road Orders
were published on May 25, 2004 and the objection period
expired on July 9, 2004. A Public Exhibition of the chosen
route was held in Helmsdale on May 26 and 27, 2004. The
Design Consultant for this phase is also Scott Wilson
Scotland Ltd.