A big step has been taken in the campaign to have a flyover installed at an A90 accident blackspot, according to an MSP.
Nigel Don of North Angus and Mearns told the Scottish Parliament’s petitions committee there are four concrete crossings for cars to avoid the dual carriageway over one 20-mile route between Perth and Dundee but none through a similar stretch between Brechin and Stonehaven.
He highlighted a dispute between Transport Scotland and Aberdeenshire Council over who should pay for any new flyover in the area.
Now both bodies are being called to Holyrood to give evidence on the issue, which the SNP MSP thinks is a step in the right direction.
After the meeting, he said: “There is no flyover on the stretch of road where you have Laurencekirk, which has a population of 3,000, so there is a clear discrepancy.”
Mr Don added: “This is one more step in the right direction. Transport Scotland have just been able to write letters, now they are going to be forced to think a little more carefully about what they are saying.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Government, whom Transport Scotland is accountable to, said work would continue on the A90 Local Development Plan in conjunction with both Aberdeenshire and Angus Councils.
He said: “As part of this, Transport Scotland has undertaken a cost refinement exercise into the costs of a grade-separated junction at Laurencekirk to provide greater certainty to developers and others on associated costs.
The spokesman added: “The North East Scotland’s Safety Camera Partnership will also monitor the required enforcement level as well as evaluating the level of signage at Laurencekirk. The recently-published Speed Limit Review has concluded that the 50mph limit at Laurencekirk is the appropriate speed limit for the current conditions.”