A north-east junction which critics have branded unsafe is set to come under the spotlight at the request of a local MSP.
The Toll of Birness, where the A90 Ellon to Peterhead road meets the turnoff for Fraserburgh, has been the scene of a number of collisions in recent years.
Calls are regularly made for an overhaul of the route and campaigners are presently attempting to convince the Scottish Government to dual the road from Aberdeen.
Banffshire and Buchan Coast MSP Stewart Stevenson has now written to the transport minister to arrange a special meeting to discuss potential improvements.
The junction itself is mainly used by commuters travelling from Fraserburgh and Mintlaw to Ellon, Aberdeen and beyond.
And transport body Nestrans has been investigating for the last year whether or not it can push through upgrades, including improved rail links across Aberdeenshire.
Mr Stevenson is now hopeful that his meeting with Humza Yousaf can help bring plans forward.
He said: ”I have written to the transport minister to request a meeting following the briefing which myself and colleagues were given by Nestrans earlier this month.
“The Toll of Birness has long been an area of congestion for commuters and improvements are long overdue.
“Ensuring we continue to improve roads in the north-east of Scotland will only build on the near completion of the AWPR in making roads more accessible and safer.”
Earlier this year, a retired teacher died on the road when the car she had been travelling in collided with another vehicle.
Dorothy Cruickshank, 66, was one of six people to have been taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary following the smash, but she did not survive.
Mrs Cruickshank had been a teacher at Meethill Primary School in Peterhead and at St Fergus Primary before her retirement.
A month after the crash, Mr Yousaf rejected calls for street lights to be installed at the junction, saying there was “no evidence” to suggest lighting would reduce the risk of accidents.
