A96 road
It runs generally west/north-west from Aberdeen, bypassing Blackburn, Kintore, Inverurie, Huntly, Fochabers and Forres, and running through Keith, Elgin and Nairn. The road terminates at the A9 outside Inverness.
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| Route information | |
| Length | 102 mi[1] (164 km) |
| Major junctions | |
| South end | Aberdeen 57.1500°N 2.0939°W |
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| Northwest end | Inverness 57.4820°N 4.1914°W |
| Location | |
| Primary destinations | Inverness, Elgin, Huntly, Aberdeen |
| Road network | |
The A96 is a major road in the north of Scotland.
Route
The road begins with a junction with the A956 near King Street in Aberdeen city centre, as a dual carriageway and goes on to form part of the Mounthooly roundabout. It then exits Aberdeen to the North West, meeting the A90 at the Haudagain Roundabout, a notoriously busy junction. It then passes Bucksburn, and has a junction with Aberdeen Airport. The road is then dual carriageway until Inverurie, where it becomes single carriageway at the second roundabout, and from then on is mostly single carriageway until just before it meets the A9 in Inverness.
History
The A96 has a poor safety record in the substantial single carriageway section, and the road has topped polls to find the most unpopular roads in Scotland on more than one occasion.[2] Debate about a new section of road to bypass Fochabers took place for a number of years. When the new bridge was built over the River Spey (in about 1970), it was built to be in line with a possible northern route. The bypass is to the north of Fochabers and south of Mosstodloch, construction started on 2 February 2010 and was opened in January 2012.[3] The road still passes through many major towns on the route, including Elgin, Nairn and Keith.
The A96 was formerly part of the Euroroute system, of route E120 which ran in a circular route between Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth.
Upgrades
Inveramsay Bridge
A new bridge called the Inveramsay Bridge is being constructed on the A96 northwest of Inverurie.[4] This bridge will go over the Aberdeen-Inverness railway line instead of under it like the existing one. The existing one is not wide enough for 2 tall vehicles to fit under it so traffic lights were put in place, but caused serious congestion during peak hours.
A96 Dualling
The Scottish Government has announced plans to upgrade the A96 road to dual carriageway by the year 2030, at a cost of £3 billion.[5][6] The project includes dualling the 88 miles of the A96 that is not dual carriageway between Aberdeen and Inverness,[7][8]
An 18-mile section of the A96 between Inverness and Auldearn and will bypass Nairn will be the first section of the A96 to be dualled.[9]
References
- "Driving directions to W North St". Google. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- "BBC NEWS | Scotland | Highlands and Islands | A96 dubbed 'most unpopular route'". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- "BBC News - Fochabers bypass work gets under way". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- "Nestrans - News". nestrans.org.uk. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- "£3bn plan to dual A96 unveiled - The Scotsman". scotsman.com. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- "A96 dualling Inverness to Aberdeen | Transport Scotland". transportscotland.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- "A96 dualling Inverness to Aberdeen | Transport Scotland". transportscotland.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- "Views sought on dualling of remaining A96 - The Scotsman". scotsman.com. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- "A96 Inverness to Nairn including Nairn Bypass | Transport Scotland". transportscotland.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2016.