Mott MacDonald Sweco JV wins A96 design contract

Transport Scotland has appointed the Mott MacDonald Sweco joint venture (MMS JV) to carry out route option assessment and detailed design work for dualling of the A96 between Hardmuir and Fochabers.

The new 29-mile stretch of the road will provide users with improved journey times, reliability and safety, with better connectivity between two of Scotland’s economic hubs, 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 with the route options assessment process expected to take up to two years to complete. 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.

Commenting on the appointment, MMS JV contract director Iain Scott, 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.”