Balfour Beatty wins £185m contract to dual A9 between Tomatin and Moy

Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering has been awarded the £184.7m contract to dual the A9 between Tomatin and Moy.

The 9.6km project is part of a wider programme to improve the A9 between Perth and Inverness. Technical advisors for the project are AtkinsRéalis WSP Joint Venture.

Once complete, the A9 will include approximately 33km of continuous dual carriageway south of Inverness. Connectivity to public transport will also be improved, plus the delivery of approximately 10km of improvement to active travel routes promoting walking and cycling in the local area.

The appointment of Balfour Beatty as main contractor marks a significant milestone. Transport Scotland had to retender the scheme with revised risks last September to attract new bidders. Two of the original three shortlist pulled out of the first tender process and the only bid submitted was much higher than the original budget of £115m.

Three firms Balfour Beatty, John Graham and Sacyr UK submitted bids in the retender.

The Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop MSP said, “I am pleased to announce our intention to award the contract for Tomatin to Moy to Balfour Beatty. Once work starts on Tomatin to Moy, it will not stop until dualling between Perth and Inverness is complete.

“The award of this contract for A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy will start our rolling programme of construction to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness and reinforces our steadfast commitment to deliver on our plan.

The contract follows the successful completion of advance works in 2021 and 2022, including the replacement of Lynebeg Underbridge on the Highland Main Line railway.