An Angus cash windfall from “city deals” for Tayside and Aberdeenshire may drive development on the A90, it has emerged.
A potential pot of up to £400 million is being worked towards by councils in Angus, Dundee, Perthshire and North East Fife, following the announcement of a £250 million fillip for Aberdeenshire earlier this year.
Transport Scotland had aired concerns about the dual carriageway’s capacity to take extra heavy traffic from north Angus, which was addressed by £24 million of Scottish Government cash for the formation of a new Laurencekirk junction.
But Angus Council may not wait for that project to begin before adding another heavy goods access to the northern A90.
Officers will ask for permission to draft plans for a new road between Montrose and the A90, linked to the Brechin flyover at Stracathro, from either the A935 or A937.
A report from the council’s head of technical and property services, Ian Cochrane, said: “Improving road links to the A90 from Montrose have been considered periodically in the past…
“There have been ongoing concerns expressed by Transport Scotland about the capacity of the Laurencekirk junction to support growth in traffic which can potentially lead to economic growth being constrained in north Angus.
“The current environment and circumstances present an opportunity to apply fresh consideration to the road links, particularly with progress with City Deals centred on Aberdeen and the Tay Cities region, which potentially bring significant economic growth opportunities in north Angus if the road constraints can be addressed.
“The recent and ongoing Brechin and Montrose charrettes have also provided public support to looking again at the road links that removes HGVs from the town centre.”
Any road from either Mill of Dun or Hillside would require major upgrades, and the route under the Hillside Rail Bridge would need lowered.
Some £500,000 has been allocated for infrastructure development in the Hill of Stracathro area, and the cost of a topographical survey and design development are estimated at £50,000.
Following the survey, plans would be discussed with Transport Scotland, utility providers and landowners.
At Prime Minister’s Questions this month, Dundee West Chris Law asked David Cameron to give a “personal commitment to work with the Scottish Government to deliver funding for a Tay city deal for Dundee and the surrounding area.”
The communities committee will discuss the item at its meeting in Forfar on Tuesday.
