Thousands flock to A96 Dualling exhibitions

The public exhibitions over the last fortnight and which finished last night (21 May) have let road users and locals get a first look at early assessment work showing a range of possible road improvement strategy options for the route between east of Nairn and Aberdeen.

Infrastructure Secretary Keith Brown said:

"It is extremely encouraging and evidence of the interest in our ambitious plans to dual the A96, that over 2000 people have attended the series of public exhibitions at seven venues over the last two weeks.

"Engagement is at the heart of our plans when building any new road and we want to hear from anyone with an interest in the route as we further develop the work to dual the A96 by 2030.

"The exhibition material is still available to view on the A96 Dualling website and I would urge anyone who has not yet commented to view the information and comment by 22 June 2015.

"All comments received will be carefully considered as we now take the work forward to the next stage of design.

"When completed the dualled route will help tackle congestion, reduce journey times, improve journey time reliability and improve road safety for all users."

The attendance at each of the public exhibition venues was as follows:

Elgin Library, Cooper Park, Elgin - 326

Forres Town Hall, High Street, Forres - 342

Gordon Arms Hotel, The Square, Huntly - 154

The Fochabers Public Institute, 15 High Street, Fochabers - 262

Longmore Hall, Banff Road, Keith - 175

Leys Hotel, Blackburn, Aberdeen - 178

Kintore Arms Hotel, 83 High Street, Inverurie - 639

Total over 7 venues = 2076

The A96 Dualling public exhibition material can be found at: http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/road/a96-dualling-inverness-aberdeen/community-engagement