Work to finally improve a notorious road accident blackspot in the Highlands has moved a step closer.
Transport chiefs revealed that four bidders have been shortlisted for the £9 million improvement project on the A9 Inverness to Thurso road at Berriedale Braes – and they have been invited to participate in the next stage of the procurement competition.
Construction is due to get under way later this year after the scheme was held up by a single objection from a local landowner which sparked a public inquiry.
Transport chiefs reveal Berriedale Braes upgrade set to cost £9million
Yesterday the minister for Transport & Islands, Humza Yousaf, said: “The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering this much needed improvement and today’s announcement takes us another step closer towards delivering these benefits for road users in the north of Scotland.”
The successful bidders for this key project are RJ McLeod (Contractors) Ltd, Morrison Construction, Roadbridge UK and Wills Bros Civil Engineering Ltd.
This next stage of procurement will see the four bidders enter into a commercially sensitive period of competitive dialogue which is anticipated to last until the summer.
The successful bidder will deliver improvements to the road alignment and the existing tight hairpin bend.
Once complete, the scheme will improve road safety and journey times by removing the need for vehicles to slow down or stop to negotiate the bend.
The estimated completion date is late 2019, although this is subject to discussions once a contractor is appointed.
The business community in the north of Scotland has regularly called for improvements in the Berriedale area – while safety campaigners have also demanded change because of a number of serious accidents.
Previously, Trudy Morris, chief executive of Caithness Chamber of Commerce and chairwoman of the Caithness Transport Forum said it is “great to see” continued progress on an important issue after years of lobbying.
Both Ms Morris and Eann Sinclair of the Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership, have said that there is a perception that Berriedale is a bottleneck for business traffic – but the progress removes this.
