Plans to build a flyover at one of the most notorious junctions in the north-east could edge closer to fruition next week.
Members of Aberdeenshire Council’s infrastructure services committee are being asked to endorse plans for a grade-separated junction across the A90 Aberdeen to Dundee road at Laurencekirk.
The safety improvements have been outlined in a Nestrans study which looked at ways to tackle concerns about the A90’s junction with the A937 Laurencekirk to Montrose road.
The blackspot has been the scene of a number of fatal and serious accidents in recent years.
Last night campaigner Jill Fotheringham, who has been fighting for action at the junction for 11 years, said the work was long overdue.
She added: “I think the people of the area have waited long enough. We need it and we need it now. All this seems like delaying to us.
“It is the only A road left along the A90 that is not grade-separated and it is the main junction between Aberdeen and Montrose.
“It has taken the council 11 years to admit that it is needed, they should have done this years ago.”
Stephen Archer, the council’s director of infrastructure services, said there was a “viable case” for the junction.
He added: “The principal outcomes of the study are that there would be benefit in upgrading the A90-A937 south junction at Laurencekirk to improve network efficiency, safety, and help enable economic development.
“Early discussions have been undertaken with Transport Scotland and Angus Council on the core issues associated with the delivery of the new junction.”
He added that another grade-separated junction where the A937 meets the A90 north of the town might be required in future years, but that this would depend on future developments in the Mearns town.
Councillors are being asked to support the findings of Nestrans’ Access to Laurencekirk study and to consider any resulting impact of its proposals on the town’s High Street next week.
They will also be asked to instruct council officers to continue their work with Angus Council and Transport Scotland on design and delivery issues associated with the A90-A937 flyover.
The committee will meet at Buchan House in Peterhead on Thursday, August 20.
Frustration at the length of time it is taking for the flyover to become a reality has prompted Ms Fotheringham to begin fundraising for the scheme herself.
She hopes her efforts will spur Transport Scotland, Nestrans and Aberdeenshire Council into action.
She has so far raised £1,625 towards her goal of £5,000 and hopes the money can get the safety improvements “kicked into gear”.
Ms Fotheringham began campaigning following the tragic death of 20-year-old Jamie Graham in a collision at the A937-A90 junction in 2004.
She said: “Enough was enough then. It is always down to money, but in my opinion there is no amount of money you can put on human life.
“My brother works on the other side of the junction and he has to negotiate a tractor and trailer across the A90 every day, sometimes several times a day.
“A retired lorry driver handed me £500 the other day and I started crying, but he wouldn’t take it back.
“We have got £1,600 so far. We are trying our best.”
Donations can be made at: https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/jill-fotheringham-1
