Publication - FOI/EIR release

8 questions regarding M9, specifically between Junctions 2 and 5: EIR release

Published: 26 November 2019
Part of: Public sector, Transport
FOI reference: FOI/19/02404
Date received: 28 October 2019
Date responded: 25 November 2019

Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004

Information requested

"Accident - 27/07/2019, //Request for Information Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
We refer to the above and would be grateful if you would provide us with information pertaining to the M9 motorway, particularly between junctions 2 and 5. Please provide us with the following information:

Confirmation of what organisation is in control of the M9
Any details held pertaining to road traffic accidents that occurred between junctions 2 and 5 from 1 January 2017 to date.
Any complaints that are held about the surface water between junctions 2 and 5 from 1 January 2017 to date.
Information about road drainage between junctions 2 and 5 from 1 January 2017 to date.
Policies about inspections taking place between junctions 2 and 5 from 1 January 2017 to date
Risk assessments in relation to surface water on the M9, notably between junctions 2 and 5 from 1 January 2017 to date.
Any internal investigations in relation to surface water on the M9, notably between junctions 2 and 5 from 1 January 2017 to date.
Any changes to the road or policies for between junctions 2 and 5 since 27 July 2019”.

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.
This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Transport Scotlad has responsibility for the M9 and our Operating Company, Amey Roads, manage and maintain this on our behalf.
Annex A to this response provides information on road traffic accidents on the M9 between junctions 2 and 5 from 1 January 2017– 18 October 2019.
There have been no registered complaints since 1 January 2017.
Annex B to this response contains road defect records from 1 January 2017 – 18 October 2019. This includes information held in respect of any drainage related defects.
The information you have requested is available from the South East Operating Company Contract which can be found usin the link: https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/35897/se-combined.pdf, specifically Schedule 7 Part 1. Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
There are no risk assessments in relation to surface water.
Schemes which have involved drainage are as follows:

Location	Issue	Resolution	Date
M9 southbound from bottom of junction 3 onslip	kerbs and gullies removed	250m pipe and filter installed	May 2018
M9 northbound between junctions 3 and 4 at the back of the loch	offside verge – removal of kerb and side entry gullies	installation of 1345m pipe and filter	November 2017
M9 northbound between junctions 2 and 3	removal of kerb and gullies	installation of 571m pipe and filter	December 2018
M9 southbound between junctions 4 and 3	removal of kerb and gullies	installation of 1474m pipe and filter	March 2019
M9 northbound offslip junction 5 to Cadgers Brae	removal of kerb and gullies	installation of 620m pipe and filter	September 2019
M9 southbound after junctions 3 prior to junction 2	removal of contaminated and silted stone	installation of 750m pipe and filter	October 2019

There have been 6 drainage incident issues between J2 and J5 resolved between 1 January 2017 and 18 October 2019. Annex C to this response holds details of these incident reports and

Annex D shows current issues involving drainage.

Changes to the road since July 2019 are as follows -
M9 SB Jct Mainline resurfaced in October
M9 SB OBR Prior to Jct5 Off-Slip resurfaced in October
M9 NB Prior to Jct 3 Off-slip resurfaced in August
M9 Jct 4 Mainline resurfaced in October
CCTV bracket to VMS sign between Jct 2 and Jct 3

There have been no changes to road policies for this stretch of the M9 since July 2019.

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