North East MP says patching works ‘are not enough’ on A90 as Hatton repairs carried out

A north-east MP has welcomed “long overdue” repairs to the A90 in Aberdeenshire but insists patching works “are not enough” on the route.

David Duguid, who represents Banff and Buchan at Westminster, said “far more needs to be done than just a tick box exercise” and renewed calls for the A90 to be dualled between Ellon and Peterhead.

It comes as Amey has now started carriageway patching works on the road outside Hatton, two months after recovery crews were sent out to rescue more than a dozen drivers as their cars suffered punctures and other damage.

The patching works will address defects on nearly 500 yards of both sides of the carriageway between Station Road and Uppermill and are due to be completed on Saturday.

The Scottish Government revealed it would not dual the A90 between Ellon and Peterhead after plans were rejected in favour of “climate change” measures.

Angry about the decision, Mr Duguid wrote to the then transport minister Jenny Gilruth about it.

Regional transport body Nestrans has also commissioned work to support the case for future investment on the A90 from Ellon to both Peterhead and Fraserburgh, with the results of the study due to be published later this year.

Amey said the £124,000 repair works at Hatton will reduce the need for more extensive maintenance in the future.

‘Far more needs to be done’

Mr Duguid said: “The atrocious state of the road at Hatton is unacceptable and has resulted in motorists having to shell out thousands of pounds to repair damaged vehicles. While I do welcome the long overdue repairs, the work should have been done months ago when the crater-sized potholes started forming.

“But Hatton isn’t the only stretch which requires substantial work to fix the road surface and far more needs to be done for the whole route rather than just a tick box exercise.

“I remain angry and disappointed at the Scottish Government’s attitude to the A90 between Ellon and Peterhead and the announcement which was made recently not to dual the road.

‘Safe condition’

An Amey spokesman said: “The works in the Hatton area were specifically accelerated to return the road to a safe condition after the impact on this section of the A90 by the extreme winter weather.

“These works include full lane width resurfacing due to the extent of deterioration evident at the location.

“We continue to investigate future schemes that will address the longer term structural integrity of the carriageway and have already made a considerable investment upgrading the A90 this financial year.

“This includes a £820,000 scheme addressing defects on more than 1.3 miles of the A90 carriageway south of Peterhead from Mains of Longhaven to just south of Boddam.

“Future works are already planned on the route from Ellon to Peterhead, including a surface improvement scheme on the A90 at Stirlinghill in May, as we continue to expand our work upgrading the north east trunk road network.”