Costs for traffic restrictions on the Tomatin to Moy section of the A9: EIR release

Information requested

The total cost to introduce traffic restrictions and temporary speed limits on the Tomatin to Moy section of A9 to allow dualling to commence (as reported on 10 February 2025 https://news.stv.tv/highlands-islands/speed-limit-to-be-introduced-on-a9-for-three-years-as-dualling-works-begin-in-the-highlands).

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.

I can advise that we only hold part of the information you have requested. From the information we hold, we have been able to disaggregate some of the costs related to the publication of the trunk road and side road Temporary Traffic Road Order (TTRO) which allows for speed and other relevant temporary traffic management requirements to be implemented to support the construction of the A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy project, totalling £4,494.11, excluding VAT.

This figure includes costs associated with publication of the TTRO public notice in the Inverness Courier, as well as publication of the TTRO on the legislation website. However, it does not include all of the costs related to the preparation and implementation of the temporary speed and other relevant temporary traffic management requirements as due to the way that some of the costs are invoiced, costs relating specifically to the TTRO cannot be disaggregated within the cost information that we hold. Further details can be found below.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. We do not hold some of the cost information associated with the introduction of traffic restrictions and temporary speed limits associated with the A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy project, such as technical advisor and project contractor costs as these costs cannot be disaggregated within the information provided on the invoices and activity schedules that we hold. Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), Transport Scotland is not required to provide information which it does not have.

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. While we recognise there may be some public interest in cost information associated with the introduction of traffic restrictions and temporary speed limits associated with the A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy project, we cannot provide some of the information which we do not hold.

It may be helpful to note that the temporary traffic management measures on the A9 required between Tomatin and Moy commencing on Monday 10 March 2025 are necessary to ensure the safety of road users and the workforce whilst works are undertaken.

Further details regarding these measures can be found on our website at the following link; A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy – significant temporary traffic management measures

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.