Improvements to be made to A96 junction after 11 crashes in three …

19/04/2023

Work to improve a notorious stretch of Aberdeenshire road ^[1] is set to take place after new figures showed there had been 11 crashes in just three years.

New road signs and marking will be put in place on the A96 Colpy Junction ^[2] between Pitmachie and Huntly ^[3] following concerns from Aberdeenshire West MSP Alexander Burnett.

The conservative wrote to the Scottish Government to express his fears over the number of collisions that were occurring on a “weekly basis” at the junction.

In their response, the Scottish Government revealed that 11 “personal injury” collisions had occurred between the two towns from January 2020 and December 2022.

The findings come after two pensioners were left seriously injured following a collision between a lorry and four cars near Morgan McVeighs in January.

A meeting between Amey’s Road Safety Team, Police Scotland, Transport Scotland and Mr Burnett was promptly arranged thereafter, where he was informed of the improvement works set to take place.

Mr Burnett, who has also met representatives from Amey regarding the junction, said: “While I welcome action being taken to improve safety at this dangerous junction, I still believe the layout in its present form presents huge risks to motorists trying to join the A96 from Colpy.

“I’m disappointed Police Scotland haven’t raised any specific safety concerns to the Scottish Government. There are near misses and collisions on this stretch of the road on a weekly basis and as we have seen, they can have catastrophic consequences for those involved.

“Motorists often take their life into their own hands when trying to cross the carriageway at Colpy which is why I want to see the layout of the junction changed to mitigate these risks.

“This should have happened years ago under plans to dual the A96 but shockingly, the proposals to upgrade the road in full are now in doubt due to the SNP-Green coalition at Holyrood.

“I believe more needs to be done in addition to the new signage and road markings and for the sake of families whose loved ones have been impacted by collisions at the junction, I hope this can be achieved in the future.”

In their response, the Scottish Government said: “As advised, Police Scotland, Transport Scotland and Amey met to discuss this most recent accident that occurred on January 12, and the safety of the trunk road network between Huntly and Pitmachie more generally.

“Police Scotland did not raise any specific road safety concerns with the section between Pitmachie and Huntly, however, based on the discussions, it was agreed to review the location of road signs and type of road markings at the junction to Morgan McVeighs/trunk road layby with a view to improving overall road safety.”

Improvement work on King George VI bridge in Aberdeen delayed until end of June ^[6]

University of Aberdeen professor warns cost of living crisis is fuelling obesity epidemic ^[7]

SNP facing ‘critical moment’ defeated leadership candidate Forbes says ^[8]

Aberdeen beach clean organiser celebrates 20 years of tidying north-east coast ^[9]

New house to be built on site of 15th Century Aberdeenshire battlefield after approval from councillors ^[10]