An MSP has demanded an “urgent meeting” with Amey after it admitted that already-delayed works on a section of a key link road in Scotland would take a further month.
On Friday, the contractor said repairs to the A96 close to Union Bridge in Keith, northern Scotland, would not be completed before “the end of August”, as a subcontractor had “encountered difficulties” when installing sheet piling.
Temporary traffic lights have been in place at this part of the main road linking Aberdeen and Inverness for exactly a year since a slope failure was reported on 21 July 2024.
Amey’s project to reconstruct the damaged wingwall and reinstate the bridge’s load-carrying capacity began on 2 March this year and was due to finish in mid-May.
This was then pushed back to 25 July before the latest setback led to further months of misery for motorists in the area.
Douglas Ross, Scottish Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands, said on social media: “Enough is enough. This latest delay is unacceptable.
“No wonder this update was snuck out late on a Friday – clearly to dodge more embarrassing coverage. I’ve written to the SNP transport secretary and Amey seeking an urgent meeting with senior bosses.”
Amey said: “Despite carrying out appropriate checks and surveys with regards to the temporary works, our subcontractor had encountered difficulties with the installation of some of the sheet piling in certain parts of the site.
“These temporary works are critical to the next phase of the project because they create a temporary wall for earth retention and allow us to safely carry out the excavation in advance of the concrete foundations and the construction of the new wall.”
It said additional ground testing is now required before the next phase of the works can continue.
“Unfortunately, this has resulted in a further delay to our scheduled programme with a completion date now likely to be the end of August,” it added.
“We recognise that this will come as a further disappointment to the local community and road users, and we apologise for the extended delays caused to this project along with the associated disruption, but the majority of these issues have been outside of our control.”
Amey said the next phase of the project involved excavation of earth to allow the installation of new concrete foundations, along with the construction of a wall and facade.
“We have been working with the subcontractor to identify opportunities to expedite works through the use of different materials and extended working with a view to removing the temporary traffic management at the earliest opportunity,” it added.
“Despite the complexity and challenges that this work has presented, this is not the experience we intended, and we very much regret the continued disruption.”