Councillors are expected to back a multi-million-pound strategy, described as a “starting gun for action”, on a notorious north-east road.
A route improvement strategy for the A947 Aberdeen to Banff route – the scene of a fatal collision over the weekend – was unveiled by Aberdeenshire Council earlier this year.
The authority’s transport strategy head, Mark Skilling, has visited the local area committees along the A947 to present his findings, and members are expected to endorse the report.
The death of a 17-year-old man, following a two-car accident on Saturday, marked the tenth fatality along the 41-mile stretch of road in the last five years. More than 40 others have sustained serious injuries in that time.
A list of 20 improvement options has been drawn up, including introducing overtaking lanes, improving the quality of signage and building bypass roads around some communities in the region.
The most expensive overhaul would be to transform the whole A947 into a dual carriageway at the cost of around £500million, but Mr Skilling and his team have described that idea simply as a “starting point for discussion”.
In his report to the infrastructure committee, which will meet in Aberdeen on Thursday, Mr Skilling said: “There was clear support for the strategies and action plan across the three area committees.”
There was unanimous support for a forum of councillors from the wards which sit along the road to be created, as well as a proposal to work with Transport Scotland and discuss how the dualling of the nearby A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road will impact on the A947.
Mr Skilling added: “Initial contact has been made with Transport Scotland on this issue and officers will continue to explore how the two projects could work together to meet the objectives of all parties.”
Another idea that was mooted at the Formartine area committee was the introduction of average speed cameras. Transport officers told councillors they would examine the case for implementing that policy.
If the infrastructure committee votes to back the strategy, Mr Skilling and his team will draw up more detailed business cases for each of the options which could then be included in future council budgets.
