Full Council receives an update on Perth's Transport Futures Project

The next Full Council meeting of Perth & Kinross Council on Wednesday 7 May will consider a report on Phase 1 of the Perth Transport Futures Project.

The A9/A85 junction and the link road to Bertha Park as well as the resource implications associated with it. Councillors will be asked to approve Council borrowing of up to £15.7M subject to confirmation of the final cost of the scheme.

The Council confirmed its commitment to progress Phase 1 of the Perth Transport Future Project in June 2013. The majority of ground investigation works in liaison with Transport Scotland at various locations in the area to the north east of the A85 in the vicinity of the A9 overbridge to Bertha Park have been completed. No issues with the ground conditions for the construction of carriageway infrastructure have been discovered. Further trials adjacent to the A9 are expected to be undertaken shortly.

As the project continues to progress to delivery stage, an updated cost estimate has been carried out. The new estimate returned a significant increase in costs  which were attributed to a number of factors including changing design standards and constraints in relation to the river and road crossings.

The revised estimate, which now includes all scheme costs, is estimated at £39.2M but there is the potential for this figure to reduce by as much as £7.6M.  These savings mean an indicative scheme cost of £31.6M however the final contract price will not be known until tenders are returned. It is proposed to progress with the detailed design of the project whilst continuing to minimise costs and work with landowners and developers to achieve further savings. Leader of the Council, Councillor Ian Miller commented: “This is a very ambitious and significant scheme that will require major investment by the Council. The importance of this new infrastructure for the future of Perth and Kinross means that the work simply has to be carried out. "Without these improvements Perth will be unable to develop as a city. Not only will the project improve air quality in Perth and reduce congestion but it will also bring increased investment into the area and allow  for the sustainable development of the city thanks to the improved roads network. This project has our full commitment due to its importance to the future development of our local economy."