The A96 is a major

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

in the north of Scotland. It runs generally west/north-west from

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, bypassing

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

, Kintore,

Inverurie Inverurie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Uraidh'' or ''Inbhir Uaraidh'', 'mouth of the River Ury') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland at the confluence of the rivers Ury and Don, about north-west of Aberdeen. Geography Inverurie is in the vall ...

Huntly Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlemen ...

Fochabers Fochabers (; gd, Fachabair or Fothabair) is a village in the Parish of Bellie, in Moray, Scotland, east of the cathedral city of Elgin and located on the east bank of the River Spey. 1,728 people live in the village, which enjoys a rich mus ...

and

Forres Forres (; gd, Farrais) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions. There ...

, and running through

Keith Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

, Elgin and

Nairn Nairn (; gd, Inbhir Narann) is a town and royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nairn enters the Moray Firth. It is the tradit ...

. The road terminates at the A9 outside

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

Route

The road begins with a junction with the A956 near King Street in Aberdeen city centre, as a

dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

and goes on to form part of the Mounthooly roundabout. It then exits Aberdeen to the North West, meeting the A92 at the Haudagain Roundabout, a notoriously busy junction. It then passes Bucksburn, and has a junction with

Aberdeen Airport Aberdeen International Airport ( gd, Port-adhair Eadar-nàiseanta Obar Dheathain) is an international airport, located in the Dyce suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, approximately northwest of Aberdeen city centre. A total of just under 3.1 ...

. The road is then dual carriageway until Inverurie, where it becomes single carriageway at the second roundabout, and from then on is mostly single carriageway until just before it meets the A9 in Inverness.

History

The A96 has a poor safety record in the substantial single carriageway section, and the road has topped polls to find the most unpopular roads in Scotland on more than one occasion. Debate about a new section of road to bypass Fochabers took place for a number of years. When the new bridge was built over the

River Spey The River Spey (Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Spè) is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At it is the eighth longest river in the United Kingdom, as well as the second longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is important for salmon fishi ...

(in about 1970), it was built to be in line with a possible northern route. The bypass is to the north of Fochabers and south of Mosstodloch, construction started on 2 February 2010 and was opened in January 2012. The road still passes through many major towns on the route, including Elgin, Nairn and Keith. The A96 was formerly part of the

Euroroute The international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The network is numbered from E1 up and its roads ...

system, of route E120 which ran in a circular route between Inverness, Aberdeen,

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

and

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

Upgrades

Inveramsay Bridge

A new bridge called the

Inveramsay Bridge The Inveramsay Bridge is a new bridge carrying the A96 over the Aberdeen to Inverness Line. The bridge was constructed by Balfour Beatty. It was inaugurated in March 2016. The existing bridge has a 4.4 metre height restriction and cannot fit tw ...

was constructed on the A96 northwest of Inverurie. This bridge goes over the Aberdeen-Inverness railway line instead of under it like the former one. The former bridge was not wide enough for 2 tall vehicles to fit under it so traffic lights were put in place, but caused serious congestion during peak hours.

A96 Dualling

The Scottish Government has announced plans to upgrade the A96 road to

by the year 2030, at a cost of £3 billion. The project includes dualling the 88 miles of the A96 that is not dual carriageway between

and

, An 18-mile section of the A96 between

and

Auldearn Auldearn ( gd, Allt Èireann) is a village situated east of the River Nairn, just outside Nairn in the Highland council area of Scotland. It takes its name from William the Lyon's castle of Eren (''Old Eren''), built there in the 12th century. ...

and will bypass

will be the first section of the A96 to be dualled.

Environmental impact

Plans to dual the A9 and A96 have been criticised by

Patrick Harvie Patrick Harvie (born 18 March 1973) is a Scottish politician who has served as Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights since 2021. He has served as one of two co-leaders of the Scottish Greens since 2008, and is on ...

of the

Scottish Greens The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; gd, Pàrtaidh Uaine na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Green Pairtie) are a green political party in Scotland. The party has seven MSPs in the Scottish Parliament as of May 2021. As of the 20 ...

, who has said the plans are incompatible with the Scottish Government's climate initiatives. Concerns have also been raised over the loss of

ancient woodland In the United Kingdom, an ancient woodland is a woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 16 ...

Cycle paths

A cycle path has been built between Kintore and

Port Elphinstone Inverurie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Uraidh'' or ''Inbhir Uaraidh'', 'mouth of the River Ury') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland at the confluence of the rivers Ury and Don, about north-west of Aberdeen. Geography Inverurie is in the val ...

. In October 2021, work began to build a shared cycle and footpath along the road between

Lhanbryde Lhanbryde (Gaelic: ''Lann Brìghde'') is a village that lies east of Elgin in Moray, Scotland. Previously bisected by the A96, it was bypassed in the early 1990s and now lies to the north of this busy trunk road. It had a population of 1,88 ...

and

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:9-0096 Roads in Scotland Transport in Aberdeen Transport in Aberdeenshire Transport in Highland (council area) Transport in Moray