A roads expert who spent years working on the A96 dualling project has lifted the lid on why he believes the at-risk scheme is doomed.
Chartered civil engineer Dave Gowans worked on the Aberdeen to Inverness dualling plan for five years, as well as several other trunk road programmes before that.
He is now warning communities between the two cities not to get their hopes up about ever seeing the changes come to fruition.
Mr Gowans also masterminded Moray’s £180 million flood defences during a high-profile career in the industry.
Based on recent indications from the Scottish Government, he is convinced the whole A96 route will not be dualled as previously planned.
In his first interview since retiring, Mr Gowans revealed what he thinks the future holds for the waylaid project…
Where does A96 dualling scheme stand at present?
Mr Gowans begins by stressing that his comments are not based on any information he was privy to while working as a contractor on the A96 dualling project.
Back when he started working on it, after leaving Moray Council in 2016, the Scottish Government had pledged to complete the route by 2030.
However that will not happen now that the A9 dualling completion date has been pushed back 10 years to 2035.
Transport Scotland says the current plan is still to dual the entire route between Aberdeen and Inverness. But this has been thrown into increasing doubt in recent years.
That’s despite £37 million already being spent on work on two sections. These are from Kintore to south of Huntly, and the Hardmuir near Auldern to Fochabers.
It was this latter route that Dave spent years working on plans for.
Both were put on hold in 2021 for a review of the A96 corridor to be carried out.
But the results of that, expected by the end of 2022, have yet to be published.
And although Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop said in spring this year that report was imminent, there is still no sign of it.
The reason for the delay is so 4,600 responses, generating 11,000 options to improve the corridor, can be sifted through…
How long has project been plagued by problems?
Mr Gowans said it was clear there were funding issues as far back as 2018.
That was when the section from Fochabers to south of Huntly was not progressed in line with the timetable.
He feels the reason given for the review’s delay would not stand serious scrutiny.
And the hold-up is more likely to be political rather than technical.
What does Mr Gowans think is the ‘most likely scenario’?
The transport agency announced the review while committing to dualling Inverness to Hardmuir; bypasses for Elgin, Keith and Inverurie along with safety improvements elsewhere.
It was an update the engineering veteran read closely…
Mr Gowans explained: “I’m speculating, but in my experience Transport Scotland’s press statements are carefully worded.
“There is no commitment to dual carriageway bypasses, so it’s possible that Elgin and Keith bypasses will be single carriageway with roundabout junctions.
“I think this is the most likely scenario.
“It’s quite sad that after spending so much on studies and appraisal work – taking Hardmuir to Fochabers to draft order stage, and Kintore to south of Huntly to preferred option – that these schemes are likely to be discarded.
“Ironically we may be worse off now than had the dualling scheme never been started.
“That’s because other schemes to improve safety and traffic flow would have been dropped [as this was prioritised].
“Instead, the A96 has had little investment in recent years.”
Mr Gowans called Transport Scotland’s procurement process “laborious and time-consuming”. And he claimed that contractors have been reluctant to bid for work given the ongoing uncertainty.
In June 2023, chief executive of the Civil Engineering Contractors Association for Scotland Grahame Barn branded Transport Scotland the “worst” client to work for in the UK
That was in connection to the lengthy delays to the A9 dualling, but it appears similar sentiments exist about the A96 scheme.
What is the good news?
However Mr Gowans is pleased the section from Inverness, including a Nairn bypass, is being progressed.
That said, he expresses some frustration that the transport agency has “procrastinated” in moving to the construction stage.
What does Transport Scotland have to say?
A spokesperson for Transport Scotland insisted the organisation is “committed to improving the A96”.
They added: “The current plan is to fully dual the route and, as part of this process, we are undertaking a transparent, evidence-based review of the programme.
“It is expected that the draft outcomes from the review will be consulted on in due course before a final decision can be reached.”
They added the transport appraisal supporting the review, along with stakeholders feedback, will help prioritise improvements along the A96.
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