The next phase of active travel and road safety improvements on the A9 between the Kessock Bridge and North Kessock Junction are set to get underway from Sunday 30 July. The project will see BEAR Scotland, Transport Scotland’s operating company, widening and improving the surface of the existing, shared-use cycleway, which forms part of National Cycle Route 1. The works will make the cycleway safer and more accessible. It will complement the first phase of the project, completed in June, which saw the central reserve crossing points upgraded.
The works are scheduled to begin on Sunday 30 July for ten weeks. There will be northbound lane restrictions between 7pm and 6am each night apart from Fridays and Saturdays. All works are scheduled to be complete by Friday 6 October, weather permitting.
To ensure the safety of roadworkers and road users, a single left lane closure will be in place on the A9 northbound carriageway each night (Sunday-Thursday). The existing National Cycle Route 1 path adjacent to the A9 northbound will be closed for the duration of the project whilst the main works take place. Non-motorised users will be diverted to use the alternative National Cycle Route 1 path through North Kessock. The newly upgraded pedestrian and cycle crossing points will be open throughout the works.
To allow resurfacing to take place, there will be daytime northbound lane closures from 9am to 3.30pm for one week at the end of the project. Dates will be confirmed closer to the time.
Ian Stewart, BEAR Scotland’s North West Representative said:
“These works are part an ongoing commitment to improve safety for all road users on the A9 and will see improvements to the existing links for pedestrians and cyclists in the area, helping to promote active travel.
“The traffic management is essential to keep roadworkers and road users safe during this project as our teams will be working in the northbound verge, however we will do all we can to complete the project as quickly and as safely as possible.
“We encourage road users to plan their journey in advance by checking the Traffic Scotland website for up to date traffic information and allow some extra time to reach their destination.”
Real time journey information is available from Traffic Scotland on www.traffic.gov.scot or twitter @trafficscotland.