Community figures in Huntly have pushed Scotland’s transport secretary for a meeting about a “dangerous” A96 junction, amid claims a £400,000 safety scheme made “no material difference”. Grampian Online reports that last month Corporal David Thorne of RAF Lossiemouth died in a crash at the site near Tesco, which links the A96 and the A920 Dufftown Road. Recent figures showed the traffic flow at the junction has increased by 28 per cent over the last four years.
A letter signed by Huntly Community Council, local councillors Robbie Withey (Independent) and Lauren Knight (Conservative), and Aberdeenshire West MSP Alexander Burnett (Conservative), pressed transport secretary Fiona Hyslop for talks “as a matter of urgency”.
Included in the letter, are claims that the junction has seen “a lack of progress in recent years” and that “far more ministerial engagement is required”.
In June last year, Grampian Online revealed plans for “safety interventions” at the junction, from Amey which included resurfacing and a flashing sign that warned of turning traffic. The now-completed scheme cost around £400,000 and Mr Burnett, penning the letter, argued that “no substantial improvements” have been made at the site since he began campaigning about it three years ago.
(PIc: Grampian Online)
