CONSERVATIONISTS have called for wildlife bridges to be built over the A9 Inverness-Perth road – so animals can cross safely.
The plea for the overpasses came yesterday as plans were revealed to dual part of the trunk road that passes through the Cairngorms National Park.
While the new design contains four underpasses, Roy Brown, of Badenoch and Strathspey Conservation Group, said he wanted to see “green bridges” put in place to provide a safe crossing for animals such as deer and badgers.
Draft designs for turning the 4.7-mile Kincraig-Dalraddy stretch of the road into dual carriageway went on show to the public yesterday at Kincraig.
The upgrade is part of a £3billion plan to dual the entire road between Inverness and Perth by 2030, and Transport Scotland said yesterday it was hoped work could start by 2016.
Mr Brown said: “I think the dualling is going to go ahead so it’s really a matter of what can be done to reduce the impact of it on wildlife.
“Obviously, putting a dual carriageway through a national park is going to have a significant impact on animals moving about and it is critical that mitigation takes place.
“We’ve been pushing for wildlife overpasses and underpasses. Research in Scandinavia shows that the overpasses really do work. The current plans offer a few underpasses, which would be used by vehicles, pedestrians and wildlife – a fairly strange combination.”
Wildlife overpasses already exist in locations of natural beauty across the world, including Banff National Park in Canada and in Montana in the US.
Mr Brown said putting wildlife overpasses in place over the A9 would be a “bold statement of commitment to the environment” from Transport Scotland, but he felt the agency was “lacking a lot of vision” in that regard.
He feared the road would restrict the movement through the park of wildlife including badgers, roe deer and red deer.
The exhibition at the village’s community hall drew dozens of visitors and many welcomed the plans.
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “We recognise the need to meet stringent environmental requirements as we take forward one of the biggest construction projects in Scotland’s history.
“As part of the extensive ecology survey work in the scheme’s environmental statement which has supported our approach, we are upgrading four underpasses, which will allow for mammal movements, as well as accommodate watercourses along the length of the Kincraig-Dalraddy dualling route.”
Locals visiting the exhibition called for an early start on the upgrade.
Ian Gibson, of Newtonmore, said: “I’m very happy with the plans. The feeling of myself and many others is that we would like to see things happening quicker.
“Transport Scotland seems to have taken on board the requirement for underpasses for getting from one side to the other.”
Transport Scotland’s A9 programme manager, Jo Blewett, said the exhibition, which opened at noon, had attracted 34 visitors in the first three hours.
She said: “There has been a lot of local interest, which shows we are reaching the people who are going to be affected. In general, people have been positive about the dualling and getting on with it as soon as we can.”
The exhibition moves to Aviemore today.