A96 | ||||
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Route information | ||||
Length | 102 mi [1] (164 km) | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | Aberdeen 57°09′00″N2°05′38″W / 57.1500°N 2.0939°W | |||
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Northwest end | Inverness 57°28′55″N4°11′29″W / 57.4820°N 4.1914°W | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United Kingdom | |||
Primary destinations | Inverness, Elgin, Huntly, Inverurie, Aberdeen | |||
Road network | ||||
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The A96 is a major road in the north of Scotland.
It runs generally west/north-west from Aberdeen, bypassing Blackburn, Kintore, Inverurie, Huntly, Fochabers and Forres, and running through Keith, Elgin and Nairn. The road terminates at the A9 outside Inverness.
The road begins at Mounthooly roundabout, just north of Aberdeen city centre. It then exits Aberdeen to the North West, meeting the A92 at the Haudagain Roundabout, a notoriously busy junction. It then passes Bucksburn, and has a junction with Aberdeen Airport. The road is then dual carriageway until Inverurie, where it becomes single carriageway at the second roundabout, and from then on is mostly single carriageway until just before it meets the A9 in Inverness.
The A96 has a poor safety record in the substantial single carriageway section, and the road has topped polls to find the most unpopular roads in Scotland on more than one occasion. [2] Debate about a new section of road to bypass Fochabers took place for a number of years. When the new bridge was built over the River Spey (in about 1970), it was built to be in line with a possible northern route. The bypass is to the north of Fochabers and south of Mosstodloch, construction started on 2 February 2010 and was opened in January 2012. [3] The road still passes through many major towns on the route, namely Elgin, Nairn and Keith.
The A96 was formerly part of the Euroroute system, of route E120 which ran in a circular route between Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth.
A new bridge called the Inveramsay Bridge was constructed on the A96 northwest of Inverurie. [4] This bridge goes over the Aberdeen-Inverness railway line instead of under it like the former one. The former bridge was not wide enough for 2 tall vehicles to fit under it so traffic lights were put in place, but caused serious congestion during peak hours.
In 2016, the Scottish Government announced plans to upgrade the A96 road to a dual carriageway by the year 2030, at a cost of £3 billion. [5] [6] The project would include dualling the 88 mi (142 km) of the A96 that is not dual carriageway between Aberdeen and Inverness. [7] [8]
An 18 mi (29 km) section of the A96 between Inverness and Auldearn that will bypass Nairn will be the first section of the A96 to be dualled. [9]
Plans to dual the A9 and A96 have been criticised by Patrick Harvie of the Scottish Greens, who has said the plans are incompatible with the Scottish Government's climate initiatives. [10] Concerns have also been raised over the loss of ancient woodland. [11]
A cycle path has been built between Kintore and Port Elphinstone. [12] In October 2021, work began to build a shared cycle and footpath along the road between Lhanbryde and Fochabers. [13]
Inverness is one of the eight cities of Scotland and is located in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands.
The A9 is a major road in Scotland running from the Falkirk council area in central Scotland to Scrabster Harbour, Thurso in the far north, via Stirling, Bridge of Allan, Perth and Inverness. At 273 mi (439 km), it is the longest road in Scotland and the fifth-longest A-road in the United Kingdom. Historically it was the main road between Edinburgh and John o' Groats, and has been called the spine of Scotland. It is one of the three major north–south trunk routes linking the Central Belt to the Highlands - the others being the A82 and the A90.
The A90 road is a major north to south road in eastern Scotland, running from Edinburgh to Fraserburgh, through Dundee and Aberdeen. Along with the A9 and the A82 it is one of the three major north–south trunk roads connecting the Central Belt to the North.
The A82 is a major road in Scotland that runs from Glasgow to Inverness via Fort William. It is one of the principal north-south routes in Scotland and is mostly a trunk road managed by Transport Scotland, who view it as an important link from the Central Belt to the Scottish Highlands and beyond. The road passes close to numerous landmarks, including Loch Lomond, Rannoch Moor, Glen Coe, the Ballachulish Bridge, Ben Nevis, the Commando Memorial, Loch Ness, and Urquhart Castle. Along with the A9 and the A90 it is one of the three major north–south trunk roads connecting the Central Belt to the North.
Forres is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Inverness and 12 miles (19 km) west of Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions. There are many geographical and historical attractions nearby such as the River Findhorn, and there are also classical, historical artifacts and monuments within the town itself, such as Forres Tolbooth and Nelson's Tower. Brodie Castle, the home of the Brodie Clan, lies to the west of the town, close to the A96.
Moray; or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland, bordering Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire to the south, and Banffshire to the east. It was a local government county, with Elgin the county town, until 1975. The county was officially called Elginshire, sharing the name of the Elginshire parliamentary constituency, so named since 1708.
The A92 is a major road that runs through Fife, Dundee, Angus, Aberdeenshire, and Aberdeen City in Scotland. From south to north, it runs from Dunfermline to Blackdog, just north of Aberdeen.
Fochabers is a village in the Parish of Bellie, in Moray, Scotland, 10 miles (16 km) east of the cathedral city of Elgin and located on the east bank of the River Spey. 1,728 people live in the village, which enjoys a rich musical and cultural history. The village is also home to Baxters, the family-run manufacturer of foodstuffs.
Broxden Junction is one of the busier and more important road junctions in Scotland. It is located on the outskirts of Perth, and is one of the city's two major roundabouts – the other being Inveralmond Roundabout, where the A9 meets the A912 Dunkeld Road, 2.3 miles (3.7 km) to the north-northwest. The roundabout, oval in shape, is an important hub of the Scottish road network, a major junction on the A9 north–south route, and the UK's northernmost motorway junction, being junction 12 of the M90 motorway. Prior to Dunfermline's ascension to city status, all of the seven cities in Scotland were signposted from its exits.
Kintore is a town and former royal burgh near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, now bypassed by the A96 road between Aberdeen and Inverness. It is situated on the banks of the River Don.
The Aberdeen–Inverness line is a railway line in Scotland linking Aberdeen and Inverness. It is not electrified. Most of the line is single-track, other than passing places and longer double-track sections between Insch and Kennethmont and Inverurie and Berryden Junction (Aberdeen).
Inverurie railway station is a railway station serving the town of Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is managed by ScotRail and is on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line, which is mostly single track north of this point, between Kintore and Insch. It is measured 16 miles 72 chains from Aberdeen.
The Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR), unofficially also the City of Aberdeen Bypass, is a major road that wraps around the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. The road stretches north from Stonehaven through Kincardineshire and crosses both the River Dee and River Don before terminating at Blackdog. The main stretch of the AWPR is 22 miles (35 km) in length.
Aberdeen Crossrail is a proposed railway development in Scotland, first proposed within the 2003 Scottish Strategic Rail Study. It is supported by Nestrans, the north-east of Scotland's voluntary regional transport partnership.
The network of transportation in Aberdeen is extensive and diversified, like that of many comparably sized cities.
Kintore railway station is in Kintore, Scotland on the Aberdeen–Inverness line. Originally opened in 1854, it closed in 1964 but was reopened on a different site in 2020.
Plans are in place to construct a southern bypass that would link the A9, A82 and A96 together involving crossings of the Caledonian Canal and the River Ness in the Torvean area, southwest of the city. The bypass, known as the Inverness Trunk Road Link (TRL), is aimed at resolving Inverness’s transport problems and has been split into two separate projects, the east and west sections. Also proposed is the upgrade of the existing B8082 Southern Distributor Road to dual 2-lane carriageway or single 4-lane carriageway, that will connect the two sections together.
A network of military roads, sometimes called General Wade's Military Roads, was constructed in the Scottish Highlands during the middle part of the 18th century as part of an attempt by the British Government to bring order to a part of the country which had risen up in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.