Harriet Cross MP has welcomed £170,000 of drainage improvements to the A96 at the Oyne Fork and hopes the work will help to reduce flooding and collisions at the accident blackspot.
But the Scottish Conservative Gordon and Buchan MP reiterated the need to dual the A96 and overhaul the Oyne Fork to prevent further accidents in the future after recently writing to transport secretary Fiona Hyslop.
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The improvements, carried out by Amey, will start on Monday, September 23 and are expected to finish on Friday, October 11.
Work will take place on weekdays between 9.15am and 3.30pm during which time traffic lights will be installed northbound at the woods of Logie, ending just after the junction for Pittodrie House.
The notorious Oyne Fork junction, situated on a tight bend near Pitcaple in Aberdeenshire, has been the scene of several recent crashes and was closed during Storm Gerrit last December.
Last October, a child and a woman were airlifted to hospital after a family was cut from their car following a collision at the Oyne Fork.
Scottish Conservative MP for Gordon and Buchan, Harriet Cross, said: “Any improvements to the A96 are welcome, especially junctions such as the Oyne Fork which has been plagued by road safety issues.
“The Oyne Fork, like so many other junctions along the A96, presents a huge danger to motorists due to limited visibility on a very fast bend.
“As we have seen in recent cases of extreme weather, substantial flooding regularly occurs at the Oyne Fork making the area even more dangerous.
“While I am pleased this work is being carried out, this is a sticking plaster to a much wider issue of getting the road dualled, including the stretch from Aberdeen to Huntly, which residents have been promised for more than a decade.
“Since becoming the MP for Gordon and Buchan, I have written to the SNP transport secretary demanding that the long awaited and long overdue A96 review is finally published and that her government finally delivers their promise of upgrading the road in full, not just between Nairn and Inverness.”
In response to Ms Cross’ letter, transport secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “It is expected the draft outcomes from the Review, which includes the Climate Compatibility Assessment and Transport Appraisal reports will be consulted on in the coming months, before a final decision can be reached.”
