An argument over where the buck stops on A90 road safety seems to have concluded “no one wants to pay for” what both sides agree is necessary.
Angus North and Mearns SNP MSP Nigel Don and campaigner David May agree on the need for a new, safe crossing on the A90 at the south end of Laurencekirk.
However, Mr Don has criticised roads agency Transport Scotland for refusing to foot the bill, while local councillor Mr May claims “the buck now stops” with the Scottish Government to improve infrastructure, especially after receiving £394 million in extra capital funding from Westminster.
Both men have been campaigning for a flyover for years.
Mr Don said: “Everyone seems to agree a flyover is necessary, but no one wants to pay for it. Aberdeenshire Council rightly point out this is a trunk road and not their responsibility.
“Transport Scotland say housing developers should pay for it. But given the current state of the market and the sites available at the south end of Laurencekirk, that’s simply not going to happen. Meantime, drivers risk their lives every day.”
He added: “If a flyover could be built for a garden centre between Dundee and Perth on the A90, then surely Laurencekirk has a very strong case.
“Furthermore, the Scottish Government has recently announced plans for A9 dualling between Perth and Inverness, which has included grade separated junctions throughout.”
Mr May called on Mr Don to put the matter to the transport minister Keith Brown and finance minister John Swinney.
“I agree with Mr Don that no-one wishes to take responsibility for paying for it,” he said. “Therefore the buck now stops with the Scottish Government, and they recently received an extra £394m of capital funding from the UK Government, so money is available for extra infrastructure projects.”
Transport Scotland has not deemed the black spot a priority, despite four fatal collisions, 15 serious and 22 slight-injury accidents on the road between 1999 and 2010.
Hope for action was rekindled near the start of the year when transport minister Keith Brown visited the site to make his own decision on the junction immediately ordering a review of the costings.
Original estimates ranged from £4m to £23m, and Transport Scotland was asked bring an exact figure to the table. It was subsequently announced that measures to make the road safer by installing a grade separated junction would cost £13.5m.
In a letter to Transport Scotland economics expert David Anderson, Mr Don said: “There is no possibility of there being enough building close to the south junction for this to make a significant contribution.”
He quotes a passage from the Aberdeenshire Local Development Plan which said: “The land values in Laurencekirk are not sufficient to afford both trunk road improvements, and may make development in Laurencekirk undeliverable.”
“The Scottish Government has put significant investment into the reopening of Laurencekirk railway station and the development of Mearns Academy,” he added.
“To get the best out of that investment, we need more house building. For that to happen, we need a flyover.”
Local campaigner Jill Fotheringham had previously said Transport Scotland had no intention of providing a flyover or any other major safety measures at the junction, and claimed a cost refinement exercise had been carried out from an office, without staff bothering to revisit the site.
She said the whole review had been a “paper exercise” carried out by the Scottish Government for publicity purposes.