Bids invited for £50m A9 dualling contract

A £50 million contract to dual a section of the A9 in Scotland has been put out to tender.

It is the first of 12 schemes in the £3 billion A9 dualling programme and has been brought forward by six months after the government indicated anticipated savings from the Queensferry Crossing programme, along with the progress of the statutory order making process for the Kincraig to Dalraddy scheme.

Transport Minister Keith Brown said: “The Scottish government’s track record in delivering transport infrastructure schemes speaks for itself, and I want to take the record forward into our most ambitious programme of work to date. Dualling the A9 between Perth and Inverness is a huge challenge – some 80 miles of upgraded road, but we are determined to make early wins.

“As the Queensferry Crossing rises out of the Forth estuary, we are anticipating more savings being realised next year from the project’s contingencies, allowing us to unlock investment for the A9 dualling scheme now.

"With that investment identified and the progress in making statutory orders for the five mile long Kincraig-Dalraddy scheme, I have given the go-ahead to get procurement underway. The process to select a contractor begins today with the publication of a contract notice worth around £50m allowing us to be in a position to award the contract and put the first spade in the ground next summer, around six months earlier than originally timetabled.”