Disappointment at lack of Forres details on A96 dualling plans

FORRES folk were invited to have their say on dualling the A96 during an exhibition at the Ramnee Hotel on Friday.

The event, organised by the Scottish Government, was part of a series of road shows being held in Moray coastal towns from Inverness to Fochabers. It featured plans on the route from Inverness to Nairn, the town’s bypass, an update on the A9 and A96 connections study, and the upgrade of the Aberdeen to Inverness rail line.

The majority of 245 visitors to the event were happy to see that a commitment to the project has been made but many were disappointed at the lack of information regarding Forres.

Ian Miles from Knockomie Gardens was dissatisfied to see no plans for Forres at the exhibition.

"The plans go no further than Nairn," he said. "The exhibition was quite comprehensive but there was little information relevant to Forres. It does look as though there is a lot of planning substance but none imminent in execution.

"The end product won’t happen in my lifetime anyway," he added. "Traffic management issues need to be addressed - there’s too much traffic and not enough road."

Transport Scotland’s A96 dualling program manager, Alasdair Graham, said that his team were getting vital feedback from the exhibitions about possible constraints on the dualling project. "Over the next 12 months assessment will be undertaken in the Forres area," he added. "Our consultants will look at the advantages and disadvantages of numerous corridors. After that we will come back to Forres with more displays and information to show the options available."

Mr Graham claimed that the public have been very welcoming of the plans moving forward and are keen for the dualling to progress.

"Reducing journey times and improving journey time reliability between Inverness and Aberdeen have been the major interests of the public so far," he added. "They want relief along the A96 and in urban parts of their towns."

Copies of the exhibition material are available at www.transportscotland.gov.uk/a96dualling

Anyone wishing to comment should respond by January 31 to a96dualling@transportscotland.gsi.gov.uk

Read the full story in this week’s ‘Gazette’.