Transport Scotland has announced a shortlist of three contractors for dualling the fifth section of the A9, spanning from Pitlochry to Killiecrankie, worth roughly £300m (£296m at April 2023 prices).
The three companies fighting it out to upgrade around four miles of the A9 are:
- Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering
- Kier Transportation
- Wills Bros Civil Engineering
The companies will take part in a ‘period of dialogue', after which they will be able to submit final tenders. Once the contract is awarded, Transport Scotland expects that the dualling will be operational by the end of 2030.
The project is expected to involve building or upgrading nine bridges – including a substantial new crossing of the River Tummel alongside the existing Tummel Bridge, a new bridge alongside the existing Clunie Bridge over Loch Faskally and a new rail bridge over the Highland Mainline Railway.
Also featured in the plans are provisions for safe active travel crossing points and improved access for non-motorised user travel routes, including the Rob Roy Way.
Cabinet secretary for transport, Fiona Hyslop, said: ‘This next phase in the procurement process will see an intensive period of ongoing discussions as each of the contractors work to refine their outline design proposals. We expect to award this contract in Autumn next year and when construction is complete for this section it is anticipated that almost 50% of the A9 between Perth and Inverness will be dualled.'
The contract for this section is also expected to feature a capped carbon reduction fund that can be used by the successful contractor to provide additional support to achieve reductions that ‘may otherwise be uneconomic'.
