Wed, Jan 27 2010
A proposed £22 million road to link two of Scotland's major motorways through West Lothian is a step closer to reality after politicians agreed to lobby Scottish ministers for the cash to get the project off the ground.
The A801 Avon Gorge, known as the "missing link", between the M8 and M9 is seen as a strategic transport link between the motorways at both regional and national levels. It is also hoped it would become a freight route between Grangemouth Docks, the Grangemouth oil refinery and various distribution centres in West Lothian. Both West Lothian and Falkirk councils want the road upgraded with a fly-over bridge to improve business links and planning permission has been approved. But neither council has the money to finance the estimated £22m cost, so they have sought support from Holyrood. West Lothian Council has agreed in principal to pay £3.4m towards the project, a move supported by West Lothian MSPs Mary Mulligan and Angela Constance. The Avon Gorge route is listed number 20 in the Scottish Government's 29 Strategic Transport Project Reviews (STPR), to be delivered by 2022, and is part of the National Planning Framework 2 (NPF2) for delivery by 2016 or later. West Lothian executive councillor for transport, Martyn Day, said: "Work commissioned jointly with partners Falkirk Council and SEStran demonstrates that the project will deliver considerable benefits to the local and national economy. "The appraisal also showed that a new bridge would take pressure out of the central Scotland road network. "This updated traffic and economic appraisal work continues to show the proposed crossing would have significant benefits to users in the Central Belt." You can read the full text of this article on the Scotsman Website.
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