HUNDREDS of people flocked to a showcase of the long-awaited plans to dual the A96 between the Highland capital and Nairn and build a bypass round the coastal town.
Transport Scotland officials said last night they were surprised by the massive response to the unveiling of the scheme.
During the first hour of the consultation exercise, more than 100 people took the chance to examine maps and drawings of the 17 route options on the table – and that figure had more than quadrupled by late evening.
The blueprint for the multimillion-pound scheme is part of the huge £3billion Inverness-Aberdeen dualling programme due for completion by 2030. Yesterday’s exhibition at the Golf View Hotel in Nairn gave locals their first chance to study the suggested routes – and opinion was split on the proposals. The new plans showed the realignment of roads and flyovers or underpasses at all junctions instead of the roundabouts shown in earlier versions.
Some people were horrified to discover the A96 could run very close to their homes, while others felt the improvements were not needed.
Caterer Julie Fairweather, 60, of Woodend House, Dalcross, was shocked to learn that one of the options ran within about 150 yards of the house she has lived in for the past 10 years.
And she said she believed the road had been realigned to take it further away from the proposed new town at Tornagrain.
She said: “They’ve done this to make the new town a better option, which seems very unfair on those of us already living here. We already have the airport and the railway and we put up with the trains and planes, but the road is really busy so we would be totally surrounded.
“I know progress has got to be made, but this realignment will totally ruin it for us.
“We won’t be able to sell our houses.”
Her neighbour, Fiona MacDonald, 48, a healthcare assistant, of Woodend Cottage, said she was unaware of the dualling plans when she moved in two-and-a-half years ago.
She said: “The A96 is going to be so close to the house.
“We can hear it now so it will make the house totally unsellable.”
Retired farmer Duncan MacKenzie, 79, of Moss-side, Nairn, said: “I don’t see why we need this scheme.
“There’s nothing wrong with the road – it’s the people who use it. They just need to use a bit more commonsense and drive more carefully.”
Retired RAF engineer Michael Thompson, 62, of Kinloss, who travels the road frequently, said: “I think it should be built as a strategic route to enable people and businesses to get from the Inverness and Nairn area through to Aberdeen more quickly, rather than another series of bypasses around all the little towns.”
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “We were pleasantly surprised at the level of turnout, considering the scheme is in early development. This is a very encouraging start to our roadshow and we would urge anyone with an interest to visit one of the eight remaining venues over the next three weeks to give us their views on the government’s ambitious plans to dual the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen.”
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