£1.4m Surfacing And Bridge Maintenance Improvements On A9

29th October 2016

A9 remains open while work carried out at ten locations on the A9 between Perth and Dalmore.

A major programme of resurfacing work and bridge joint repairs are planned for a number of locations on the A9 between Perth and Dalmore throughout November.

The programme will see four locations resurfaced ahead of the winter months, as well as essential maintenance work carried out on six bridges on the route.

The resurfacing will provide a smoother and safer journey for motorists, as well as ensuring the carriageway is resilient to harsh weather conditions across winter. The essential replacement of bridge joints will ensure the six structures continue to function to a safe standard for years to come.

The programme of work has been designed to take place out with the peak tourist season to minimise disruption to visiting motorists, with the majority of the work taking place overnight to limit any impact to regular road users as much as possible. The A9 will remain open throughout the programme with traffic management in place to help ensure roadworkers as well as motorists remain safe when the improvements are progressing.

Details of the programme are as follows:

· A9 Ballinluig, Southbound - Daytime resurfacing works start Monday 31 October to Friday 11 November
A 500m section of road on the southbound carriageway of the A9, north of Ballinluig, will be resurfaced over 10 days. For the safety of the workforce and road users, a 10mph convoy system of traffic management will be in place between 7am and 7pm, Monday to Friday, with no works programmed over the weekend. Due to the location of the works, the A9 / East Haugh Junction will be fully closed to traffic with a diversion via the A924 junction in the first week. For the remainder of the project the junction will be open to traffic from the A9 southbound however a closure to traffic travelling to and from the A9 northbound will remain in place. Diversion routes for the junction will be in place to reduce the overall impact to the travelling public.

· A9 Slochd - Daytime bridge maintenance works start Tuesday 1 November to Saturday 5 November
Bridge joints will be replaced at the bridge over the railway at Slochd with temporary traffic lights in place for the safety of the workforce as well as motorists.

· A9 Evanton to Alness – Overnight resurfacing works start Wednesday 2 November to Tuesday 29 November
Thirteen nights of resurfacing will take place over a four week period to improve a 1km section of road near the village of Evanton, north of Inverness. Works will be carried out overnight, 7pm to 7am, in an effort to avoid disruption to daytime traffic flows. A 10mph convoy system will be in place during the works. Due to the nature of the works, access will be restricted to and from Evanton via the B817 over four of the thirteen nights. Signed diversions will be in place for road users wishing to access the A9 from Evanton and for southbound A9 traffic wishing to travel to Evanton. Access for northbound A9 traffic will be unaffected.

· A9 Allt Bhaic Bridge, two miles south of House of Bruar - Daytime bridge maintenance works start Sunday 6 November to Friday 11 November,
Bridge joints will be replaced over six days on the A9 south of House of Bruar with temporary traffic lights in place for the safety of the workforce as well as motorists.

· A9 Dalmore – Overnight resurfacing works start Sunday 13 November to Thursday 24 November.
A 400m section of the A9 at Dalmore is to be resurfaced overnight between 7pm and 7am during a two week period. For the safety of the workforce and road users, a 10mph convoy system of traffic management will be in operation while the works are being carried out.

· A9 Raigmore Northbound and Southbound – Overnight bridge maintenance works start 14 November to 25 November
Twelve nights of bridge maintenance will take place from Monday 14 November to replace the bridge joints across two bridges of the dual carriageway at Raigmore. Alternate lane closures will be in place each night between 7pm and 7am to allow the works to safely be completed.

· A9 north end of Ballinluig Duals to Festival Theatre – Overnight resurfacing works start Sunday 13 November to Friday 25 November.
Just under a kilometre of the A9 north of the Pitlochry slip road will be resurfaced overnight for a two week period from Sunday 13 November. For the safety of the workforce and road users, a 10mph convoy system will be in place from 7pm to 7am each night until the works are completed.

· A9 Dalmore – Overnight bridge maintenance works start Friday 28 November to Saturday 29 November
Two nights of bridge maintenance work is to take place on the A9 at Dalmore between 7pm and 7am, with temporary traffic lights in place each night to keep teams safe during the works.

· A827 local road on A9 overbridge at Ballinluig,– Daytime bridge maintenance works start Sunday 30 November until Tuesday 2 December
The final phase of the works will involve bridge maintenance works to the A827 local road over the A9, with works taking place on the overbridge at Ballinluig. The A9 will be unaffected during the works, however a lane closure will remain in place on the local A827 overbridge above the A9 until works are completed.

Commenting on the programme of improvements for the A9, Eddie Ross, BEAR Scotland's North West representative said: "The £1.4m investment from Transport Scotland will allow our teams to ensure the A9 continues to provide a safe and reliable route for motorists.

"Trunk road safety is of the utmost importance to BEAR Scotland. The resurfacing will make sure the route will be more resilient during the winter months as well as creating a smoother journey for motorists, and the bridge joint replacement programme will ensure the structures on the A9 continue to function to a safe standard.

“We appreciate works of this nature can be disruptive and we've planned the programme to take place out with the peak tourist season with works located at busier sections of the A9 taking place overnight when traffic flows are lower.

“While our teams will do all they can to minimise disruption and complete the works as quickly and safely as possible, motorists are encouraged to plan ahead and check Traffic Scotland for the most up to date journey information."

Real time journey information is available from Traffic Scotland on www.trafficscotland.org or twitter @trafficscotland.

Scheme coordinates:
Resurfacing schemes:
· A9 Ballinluig Southbound– 56.677937, -3.688642
· A9 Evanton to Alness – 57.651635, -4.339435
· A9 Dalmore – 57.694989, -4.234014
· A9 North End of Ballinluig Duals to Festival Theatre – 56.690170, -3.715418

Bridge Maintenance schemes:
· A9 Slochd Beag: 57.291057, -3.906318
· A9 Allt Bhaic, near House of Bruar: 56.767754, -3.890514
· A9 Raigmore: 57.481957, -4.192758
· A9 Dalmore: 57.693695, -4.235961
· A9/A827 Dalnabo, Ballinluig: 56.650894, -3.667265