Transport Scotland £2bn A9 dualling framework: delivery and design notes for engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on New Civil Engineer
30 Second Briefing
Transport Scotland is launching a £1.94bn multi‑lot framework to complete the remaining A9 dualling packages between Perth and Inverness, covering the last single‑carriageway sections of this 177km strategic corridor. The framework is expected to bundle design and construction for complex rural stretches with challenging geology, structures and junction upgrades, favouring Tier 1 contractors with major highways, structures and ground engineering capability. Contractors should anticipate long linear works with traffic management on live carriageways, significant earthworks, rock cuttings and drainage upgrades in a sensitive Highland environment.
Technical Brief
- Framework value is £1.94bn, structured as a multi‑lot agreement for multiple dualling sections.
Our Take
Within our 452 Infrastructure stories, UK transport items involving Transport Scotland are relatively sparse, so a £2bn framework signals one of the larger long-horizon public works programmes currently tracked in the United Kingdom.
Frameworks of this scale in our database often lead to multi-lot procurement with tiered contractor participation, which can favour consortia that can demonstrate both digital delivery capability and strong sustainability credentials over single-discipline firms.
Given the Sustainability tag and the size of the A9 programme, this framework is likely to become a reference case for how UK road authorities integrate low-carbon materials, biodiversity net gain and whole-life carbon assessment into major highway upgrades.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
