Aberdeenshire Council has revealed plans to launch an investigation into safety on a road where four people have been killed and 13 seriously injured since 2014.
The Mintlaw to Fraserburgh route includes a stretch of the A952 from Mintlaw to Cortes – overseen by Aberdeenshire council – and a section of the A90 from Cortes to Fraserburgh.
Figures have highlighted a dramatic number of serious and fatal collisions on the carriageway during the last 36 months and, following public pressure, the Scottish Government recently announced plans to improve signage on the A90.
One killed or seriously injured every two months: Shock figures show cost of north-east danger road
Now, Aberdeenshire Council has agreed to investigate road safety on the route.
In a letter seen by the Press and Journal, the local authority’s head of Transportation, Ewan Wallace, told SNP MSP Gillian Martin his team is working with other organisations to implement a “package of measures” to tackle the causes of accidents.
He stated: “Aberdeenshire Council intends to carry out an in-depth analysis of all the accidents for the whole of the A952 and, where engineering measures are not deemed appropriate, we shall work with partners to reduce the number of collisions through education, encouragement and enforcement.”
Mr Wallace said two of the four fatalities on the Mintlaw to Fraserburgh route happened on the stretch overseen by the council.
He added that a study into multimillion-pound upgrades to the Aberdeen to Peterhead and Fraserburgh routes, including dualling sections of the A90, would improve the situation.
Mrs Martin said: “We are all painfully aware of the need to reduce the relatively high number of accidents on rural roads. I wrote to Aberdeenshire Council for reassurance all necessary measures are being taken to prevent further incidents.
“It has been thanks to pressure from SNP councillors that we have got to a position where a feasibility study is being carried out on transport improvements north of Ellon, including not only the A952, but also the Toll of Birness junction on the A90.”
She also accused Conservative councillors of neglecting Buchan roads for years.
But last night, north-east Tory MSP Liam Kerr said: “It is good to see Gillian Martin catching up to an important issue I have raised previously.
“Clearly, Aberdeenshire Council has responsibility for the remainder of the road and I would fully expect that local authority officials would be working closely with Transport Scotland.”
