Residents in an Aberdeenshire town have been left “disgusted” that no action has been taken in 2015 at a notorious accident blackspot on the north-east’s busiest road.
And people in Laurencekirk have called for a date to be set for the construction of a flyover or underpass on the A90 Aberdeen-Dundee route at its junction with the A937 to Montrose.
The local authority, Nestrans and Transport Scotland are yet to decide who will fund the scheme.
Aberdeenshire Council endorsed the Nestrans Access to Laurencekirk study earlier this year – which aimed to tackle concerns at the junction.
Yesterday residents called for a delivery date to be announced before there is another fatality or serious injury.
The next meeting of Nestrans, Transport Scotland and Aberdeenshire and Angus councils will not to be held until spring 2016.
Local Jill Fortheringham, who has been fighting for action at the junction for 11 years, said: “I am disgusted that they are taking so long with this, we’ve waited 11 years for them to finally admit that the work needs to be done and now we’re going to wait another God-knows how many years to decide if anything will be done about it.
“The roads are just getting busier and busier, they’re building more houses in Laurencekirk and we can’t put that road under any more pressure.”
Laurencekirk development trust secretary, Michael Robson, said: “I don’t feel that we have been kept in the picture, no one really knows how far along we are in the process and there has been a lack of clarity, communication and no timescale.
“The process is requiring real patience from the community and the lack of transparency has been very difficult for local people to understand.”
Mr Carr added that it may not be possible to set a date for the start of work until “we agree what we actually need to do there”.
A Nestrans spokeswoman said there was no timetable set for the construction of improvements at the A90 blackspot.
She added: “All parties continue to work together. Considerable care is being given to budgetary requirements and processes to get this in place to allow progress for the next stage of development of this process.”
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a grade separated junction at Laurencekirk and we are already working with the two local authorities and Nestrans on the next steps.
“However, considerable development work lies ahead and all partners must work together to ensure it is delivered for the benefit of road users and the local community in Laurencekirk.”
