A96 Hardmuir to Fochabers
Overview
Part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to dualling the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen, this section involves a new 46km dual carriageway between Hardmuir (east of Auldearn) and the east of Fochabers (the western section of the A96 Dualling Programme).
Background
The intention to fully dual the A96 was announced in December 2011, when Scottish Ministers published their Infrastructure Investment Plan, which contained the commitment to dual the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen, thus completing the dual carriageway network between all Scottish cities.
Transport Scotland has completed preliminary assessment work on the dualling programme between east of Nairn and Aberdeen. Design work for the development and assessment of route options for the A96 dualling Programme has been split into three sections (western, central and eastern sections) in addition to the Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) section which is at a more advanced stage of development.
In June 2016 Transport Scotland awarded a contract to Mott MacDonald Sweco Joint Venture to carry out route options assessment and detailed design work for dualling the western section of the A96 between Hardmuir and Fochabers. Route options assessment work is now complete and we have selected a preferred option for the scheme.
The Preferred Option was announced in December 2018 for detailed development and assessment. However, following the Cooperation Agreement signed between the Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party in August 2021, which agreed to conduct a transparent evidence-based review of the programme, design development of the A96 Hardmuir to Fochabers scheme has been paused pending the outcome of the A96 Corridor Review. The review is underway and will report by the end of this year.
Community engagement
Design Update: October 2019
A series of public drop-in sessions were held in October 2019 to give local communities and road users the opportunity to view and comment on design updates, including developing proposals for active travel facilities, for the A96 Dualling Hardmuir to Fochabers scheme.
Materials presented at the exhibitions
Transport Scotland has now responded to all comments and feedback received following these events.
Preferred option exhibitions
Public exhibitions were held in early December 2018 to give locals and road users an opportunity to see and comment on the preferred option for the A96 Dualling Hardmuir to Fochabers scheme.
Following these exhibitions, comments and feedback were received and considered, with responses being issued to all who provided comment.
Design Update: August 2018
To keep members of the public, communities, stakeholders and road users informed of the latest scheme developments, We published a Design Update for the A96 Dualling Hardmuir to Fochabers scheme in August 2018.
The update outlined a number of route option elements that were removed from further consideration and highlighted five key design developments on the remaining options.
February / March 2018 Public Exhibitions
As part of our ongoing community engagement for the scheme, public exhibitions were held between 27 February and 2 March 2018 in Elgin, Forres and Fochabers. The Public Exhibitions let locals and road users view and comment on proposed changes to the options being developed for the A96 Dualling Hardmuir to Fochabers scheme following changes to the options under consideration for the scheme.
Representatives from Transport Scotland and their design consultants, Mott Macdonald Sweco, attended and were available to answer questions on the design and assessment work undertaken on the scheme.
June 2017 Public Exhibitions
As part of our ongoing community engagement for the scheme, public exhibitions were held between 19 and 22 June 2017 in Elgin, Forres and Fochabers to let locals and road users view and comment on the options that have been developed for the Hardmuir to Fochabers scheme following the earlier preliminary engineering and strategic environmental assessment work.
Representatives from Transport Scotland and their design consultants, Mott Macdonald Sweco, attended and were available to answer questions on the design and assessment work being carried out.
We've responded to feedback from members of the public and other stakeholders following the June 2017 public exhibitions, and published some frequently asked questions, giving answers to the most common issues raised.
Meet the Team Events
As part of Transport Scotland's ongoing rolling programme of community engagement on the A96 Dualling, three 'Meet the Team' events were held on the Hardmuir to Fochabers scheme (i.e. the western section) in October 2016 to provide an opportunity for the public to meet representatives from Transport Scotland’s A96 Dualling team and design consultants, Mott MacDonald Sweco Joint Venture (MMS).
Information presented at the Meet the Team events:
Documents and Reports
DMRB Stage 2 Scheme Assessment Report - Published December 2018
Contact
For more information on the project, contact:
A96 Dualling Team
Major Projects
Transport Scotland
Buchanan House
58 Port Dundas Road
Glasgow G4 0HF
Telephone: 0141 272 7100
Email: a96dualling@transport.gov.scot