Another milestone for the A9 Dualling Programme as procurement commences on Pitlochry to Killiecrankie section

The procurement process has formally commenced for the fifth A9 Dualling programme contract, for the Pitlochry to Killiecrankie project. A contract notice published by Transport Scotland notified contractors and their supply chains of the £205 million at Q2 2025 prices contract opportunity, which is expected to be awarded in Autumn next year.

The project will be the third of the A9 Dualling Programme to be delivered using Transport Scotland’s amended form of NEC4 Engineering and Construction contract which has a more balanced share of risk. It is anticipated that by the end of 2030, when dualling for this section is expected to be operational, almost 50% of the A9 between Perth and Inverness will be dualled.

Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Fiona Hyslop underlined her commitment to dualling the A9 between Perth and Inverness, saying:

“This news demonstrates the momentum building now to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness. We are delivering on the commitments set in our delivery plan laid out in 2023 and this year we are really seeing work ramp up and with a further key milestone expected to be delivered later this year on the use of the Mutual Investment Model (MIM) for the remaining sections of A9 Dualling. We will continue to achieve what we set out in 2023 to deliver a safer A9 for Scotland.”

Transport Scotland’s Project Manager for the section Joel Morrison said

“This £205 million at Q2 2025 prices contract for the section between Pitlochry and Killiecrankie will make the A9 more resilient and safer and will develop and upgrade active travel routes in the area, making them safer and more enjoyable for the local community and tourists. We look forward to working with contractors over the next year or so to deliver the best value for money through our procurement process for this next exciting section of dualling.”

The Pitlochry to Killiecrankie contract involves building or upgrading 9 bridges, including a substantial new crossing of the River Tummel alongside the existing Tummel Bridge, a new bridge alongside the existing Clunie Bridge over Loch Faskally, and a new rail bridge over the Highland Mainline Railway. The section also includes provision for safe walking and wheeling crossing points and improved access for non-motorised user travel routes including the Rob Roy Way.

The publication of the contract notice follows a virtual industry information event held in early July which provided information on the upcoming opportunity to the industry. Award of the contract for the section is anticipated in Autumn 2026 with dualling expected to be operational by the end of 2030.

The publication of the notice comes just after the Scottish Government announced its intention to award the contract for the neighbouring section between Tay Crossing and Ballinluig to Wills Bros Civil Engineering Ltd.