A77 essential road safety junction improvement queries: EIR release

Information requested

A. With regard to the "essential road safety junction improvements" undertaken by Amey on behalf of Transport Scotland on the A77 at its junctions with Doonholm Road and the C39 Corton Road in Ayr:

i. The budget for the project
ii. The total spend for the project

B. Reasons that the final design for the above mentioned project was chosen. Please include any correspondence between Amey and Transport Scotland in relation to this.

C. Other designs that were considered for the above mentioned project and the reasons these were discounted. Please include any correspondence between Amey and Transport Scotland in relation to this.

D. Reasons that "essential traffic signal detection installation" at the above mentioned junction was not undertaken during the original project.

E. The budget for the "essential traffic signal detection installation and snagging works" at the above mentioned junction due to take place on June 30 to July 1.

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.

For ease I will provide the responses in the order the questions were asked.

1. You asked, with regard to the "essential road safety junction improvements" undertaken by Amey on behalf of Transport Scotland on the A77 at its junctions with Doonholm Road and the C39 Corton Road in Ayr:

i. The budget for the project

The initial outline estimate for the construction of the project was £625,018.61 upon completion of detailed design in October 2024.

ii. The total spend for the project

Currently, the overall construction spend for this scheme is currently £847,441.20.

2. You requested the reasons that the final design for the above mentioned project was chosen and requested any correspondence between Amey and Transport Scotland in relation to this be included.

This was a scheme that originated from the previous Operating Company, Transerv. Analysis highlighted that collisions at the staggered junction involved turning vehicles. There were no collisions involving pedestrians. Signalisation was selected as it mitigated this type of vehicle conflict. A reduced speed limit permitted the design to be constructed within the existing footprint. Pedestrian phases were considered as part of the signalisation. A pedestrian phase was introduced across Doonholm Road to assist with pedestrian movements.

The design options were discussed and agreed with Transport Scotland and Transerv prior to Amey becoming the Operating Company. Amey subsequently inherited the proposals making improvements and refinements to the preliminary design leading to the newly installed layout.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have some of the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. Transport Scotland does not have the information you requested because Amey do not hold any correspondence between themselves and Transport Scotland in relation to the final design for the above mentioned project.

This exception 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information you have requested, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

3. You requested details of other designs that were considered for the above mentioned project and the reasons these were discounted and asked that any correspondence between Amey and Transport Scotland in relation to this be included.

An electronic vehicle activated sign with the legend ‘Vehicles Turning’ was considered, however, due to the significant volume of right turns other solutions were explored. A roundabout was discounted due to the wider footprint required and so traffic signals were chosen as the final option. Pedestrian phases were considered as part of the signalisation. There was no pedestrian phase incorporated across the A77. There will be no pedestrian link from the proposed Corton development to the Doonholm Road traffic signal junction, with the developer instead providing a separate footbridge to the north of the junction suitable for walking, cycling and horse riding.

Please see Annexes A, B and B1 with this response for further details.

An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some the information within the Annexes because it is personal data of a third party and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exception is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in
 pplying the exception.

4. You requested the reasons that "essential traffic signal detection installation" at the above mentioned junction was not undertaken during the original project.

In order to minimise disruption to the public during the Easter break, Corton Road and Doonholm Road were reopened for traffic on 18 April 2025. Prior to this milestone, it was not possible to complete the side road detection infrastructure. A new Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO) to close the side roads was required to allow for the remaining detection to be installed.

5. You requested the budget for the "essential traffic signal detection installation and snagging works" at the above mentioned junction due to take place on June 30 to July 1.

The overall estimate for the installation of the traffic signals, not including materials, was £27,426.24. Part of these works were completed by 18 April 2025. The remaining works took place on the 30 June to 1 July and these works are currently still being measured. The current estimate of the costs for the works on the 30 June to 1 July is approximately £10,000.

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.

EIR 202500473217 - Information released - Annex

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