Work starts on £308m Tomatin to Moy section of A9 dualling
- Safer Highways
- May 2
- 2 min read
Work has started on the Tomatin-Moy section of the A9 dualling in the year that the whole programme should have been finished.
Transport secretary Fiona Hyslop visited the huge undertaking for herself and explained that work is already underway on the Pitlochry-Killiecrankie. Ms Hyslop insisted that she has her ‘foot to the floor’ and is determined to see it through, adding: “I know there has been frustration at the timing for the start of the A9 works but it’s quite clear from today that the Dualling of the A9 is happening.”
Tomatin-Moy has experienced something of a chequered history since it was re-tendered in 2023 because the only bid stood at £170 million – far in excess of the orginalk £115 million budget, however current estimates put the cost of the project at £308 million.
It is the first section of A9 dualling in the Highlands since Kincraig to Dalraddy was completed in 2017, after the Luncarty to Pass of Birnam opened in 2021.
The works to dual the A9 between Tomatin and Moy will involve:
Moving 1,000,000 cubic meters of material, excluding topsoil, equivalent to about 400 Olympic size swimming pools
32,000 tonnes material of pavement surfacing
Construction of 4 structures (Tomatin Junction Underpass, Dalmagarry Bridge, Moy Bridge and Lynbeg Junction underpass)
10 km of new and improved non-motorised user routes
Construction of 41 culverts
The £185m contract will also support social, economic and environmental outcomes for the local community as part of the A9 Dualling’s Social Value Programme. The Cabinet Secretary saw some of these benefits in action today, meeting two of Balfour Beatty’s graduate members of staff working on site to hear about the valuable experience they are gaining from the project, and attending a Bridge to Schools event delivered by Balfour Beatty with local pupils from Strathdearn Primary School. The event involved hands-on activities with pupils as they constructed a 13-metre long cable-stayed bridge whilst learning more about engineering principles and future careers.