Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Second design contract awarded for dualling A9 Perth-Inverness road

Transport Minister Keith Brown
Transport Minister Keith Brown

The dualling of the A9 Perth-Inverness road took another step forward yesterday with the awarding of one of the preliminary contracts.

Transport Minister Keith Brown has awarded the design contract for the 32-mile stretch between Pass of Birnam and Glen Garry to international engineering firm Jacobs.

It is the second of three large design contracts for the dualling scheme, each estimated to be worth between £40million and £60million.

Mr Brown said: “I am proud that I am part of the only government to commit to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness.

“This second major contract is another step forward for this mammoth project, and underlines our determination to bring forward benefits to road users as soon as we can.

“This multi-million pound investment also complements other work being progressed on the ground to improve the safety and performance of the A9, with the installation of average speed cameras for implementation this October and ground investigation work is also progressing well on the Kincraig-Dalraddy scheme, which we expect to begin construction in 2015/16.”

Subject to the mandatory standstill period, Jacobs will start work on the section of the road nearest to Perth next month.

A vital part of the work is engaging with communities that may be affected by the road upgrade. As with the first design contract, Jacobs will have a dedicated team to build relationships with local people and help guide them through the design and development process.

The third and final design contract to dual the A9 between Dalraddy and Inverness is expected to be awarded by the end of the year.

The design contract for the 26-mile stretch of the A9 between Glen Garry and Dalraddy was awarded to CH2MHill/ Fairhurst in April.

The Scottish Government has pledged to dual all the remaining 80 miles of single carriageway sections of the A9 by 2025 at a cost of £3billion.

Mr Brown said: “Make no mistake, the Scottish Government wants to see improvements delivered as soon as possible and we are doing everything possible to bring forward elements of the scheme.

“We remain on track to deliver half of the 80 miles of new upgraded road by 2022, with completion expected by 2025.”