Balfour Beatty’s construction contract forms part of an overall £96m project to dual the 9.5km of the A9 between Luncarty and Pass of Birnam. It is be the second construction contract to be awarded as part of Transport Scotland's £3bn programme to dual the A9 all the way between Perth and Inverness.
Balfour Beatty was appointed from a shortlist of four bidders which included Dragados SA, Wills Bros Civil Engineering and Farrans Construction/Roadbridge joint venture.
Upon completion of the A9 Luncarty to Pass of Birnam, road users will benefit from 15km of continuous dualled carriageway from Inveralmond roundabout in Perth to Pass of Birnam.
In addition to 9.5km of new dual-carriageway, construction of the Luncarty to Pass of Birnam section involves four new overbridges to maintain local access across the A9, along with the widening of one existing underbridge and the construction of a new side road bridge.
Hector MacAulay, Balfour Beatty managing director for Scotland, said: “We look forward to delivering this important infrastructure project which will bring travel and safety improvements to all road users whilst generating significant benefit to the local community and economy.”
Scotland’s cabinet secretary for transport, infrastructure and connectivity Michael Matheson said: “This marks another significant milestone in the timeline of this major transport infrastructure project for Scotland to upgrade 80 miles of single carriageway between Perth and Inverness.
“This investment will vastly improve connectivity between the Highlands and Islands and Scotland’s central belt, delivering far reaching benefits to the wider Scottish economy.
“The dualling of the A9 will create hundreds of new jobs throughout the construction phases which will leave a lasting legacy of a highly skilled workforce, bolstering Scotland’s construction industry. The project will also act as a catalyst to attract significant inward investment and stimulate continued growth of our business communities, especially the tourism industry along this key route.”
He added that the Scottish government was committed to delivering the entire £3bn project by 2025.
The first section of the A9 dualling programme was the £35m Kincraig to Dalraddy project, which completed in September 2017 and was constructed by Wills Bros Civil Engineering and John Paul Construction Joint Venture.
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