A96 by-pass challenge dropped

Transport Minister, Stewart Stevenson has welcomed news that the legal challenge to the A96 Fochabers and Mosstodloch by-pass project in the Court of Session, has been dropped.

Transport Scotland can now move the important north east scheme forward and will start to update important ecological and landscape information along the route.

The project will invest £18m – £21m into the north east trunk road network by taking A96 trunk road past the areas of Fochabers and Mosstodloch, as opposed to the current lay-out where the route goes through them.

The scheme will bring safety benefits to the areas by removing heavy through traffic from them.

Transport Scotland’s roads team will carryout the information update exercise before moving to the detailed tendering process. Work is likely to start in late 2008 – into early 2009 with scheme completion expected in spring 2010.

Welcoming the news, Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson said:

“This is a vital link in Scotland’s transport network. This project will bring benefits for communities across the north east, cutting journey times, easing people’s commute and improving connections.

“Fochabers bypass is a key part of our plans to deliver a less congested, more efficient transport network across Scotland, and I am delighted that work can now progress towards the building stage.”