Commitment to fully dual A96 by 2030 abandoned

The new plan says a Nairn bypass would go-ahead separately from the wider A96 project

The Scottish government has abandoned its commitment to make the A96 from Inverness to Aberdeen fully dual carriageway by 2030.

The SNP pledged in 2011 to upgrade 86 miles (138km) of the route by then.

Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said it would be delayed but that the government remained in favour of fully dualling, adding that communities should have an opportunity to have a say on the final decision.

A new proposal from national agency Transport Scotland would not see the road dualled all the way, but does include bypasses for Elgin and Keith in Moray. Plans for a bypass of Nairn in the Highlands are already ongoing.

Ms Hyslop said the final decision had to balance the demands of a challenging economic climate and the climate emergency.

She said: "Since we announced our intention to fully dual the A96 in 2011, a lot has changed, including 14 years of austerity, and ongoing cost pressures that have impacted the Scottish Budget.

"We also agreed to undertake a corridor review, a lengthy and complex process, which has taken longer than initially anticipated because of the huge interest and engagement from the public."

She added: "These delays now mean that we will not complete dualling of the A96 by the original anticipated timeline of 2030."

'Kicked can down road'

Earlier, while answering a question on road safety during First Minister's Questions, First Minister John Swinney said: "The government remains committed to dualling the A9 and A96 and are taking the particular steps to advance those projects."

The new draft plan follows a review and is to be put out for public consultation.

Transport Scotland said fully dualling the A96 would involve a considerable amount of land, raw materials and greenhouse gas emissions.

It said a fully-dualled A96 would also have a much larger increase in vehicle miles travelled and an increase in emissions about 15 to 65 times larger than under the new proposals.

Transport Scotland said the alternative option would also cost less.

The proposed changes come almost a year after the Scottish government said a target to finish a project to dual the A9 from Inverness to Perth would be delayed by 10 years.

Scottish Conservative North East MSP Liam Kerr described the A96 situation as "disgraceful".

He said: "Since the SNP first promised the upgrade under Alex Salmond’s government in 2011, there have been no less than 16 different transport secretaries and ministers, all of whom have kicked the can down the road at every turn."

The A96 passes through large areas of farmland and the towns of Nairn, Elgin and Keith.

It currently has long stretches of single carriageway and some shorter dualled road and crawler lanes such as at Brodie and Alves.

The new proposals - called the Refined Package - include revamps of junctions, improved rail services and new active travel routes for walking and cycling.

Transport Scotland has previously said upgrading the A96 would bring a number of benefits to north and north east Scotland, including economic growth and reducing accidents.

There were three fatal accidents on the road this year, according to information released by the Scottish government in early October.

Under the new plan for the A96 corridor, a bypass for Nairn would be separate from the wider road project.

Traffic often becomes congested in the Highland town.

The bypass has already received ministerial consent following a public local inquiry.