THE Mott MacDonald Sweco joint venture (MMS JV) has been appointed to carry out route option assessment and design work for the A96 dualling project between Hardmuir and Fochabers.
The new 29-mile stretch of the road will lead to shorter journey times and better connectivity between Inverness and Aberdeen.
The Hardmuir to Fochabers section of the road consists mainly of single lane carriageway which passes through or close to various towns and villages. Regular bottlenecks occur which leads to traffic congestion and disruption.
MMS JV will begin design and assessment work this summer, adding that the route options assessment process is expected to take up to two years. There will be a number of grade separated junctions along the length of the new road where bypasses are created for a number of communities, such as Forres and Elgin. There will also be crossings of the River Findhorn, the River Lossie and the River Spey as well as the Aberdeen to Inverness rail line.
Iain Scott, MMS JV Contract Director, said, “This is a fantastic win for Mott MacDonald Sweco reinforcing our commitment to developing Scotland’s infrastructure. It builds on our long established collaborative relationship with Transport Scotland.”
