RJ McLeod wins £40m contract for M9 junction

Work is getting under way on a £40m project centred on a new M9 motorway junction following the award of the contract to RJ McLeod.The new junction will open up direct access to the M9 for the community of Winchburgh and outlying villages in West Lothian.The £40m project, which also includes other infrastructure and landscaping works, is fully funded by Winchburgh Developments. The new junction is designed to unlock the delivery of the Winchburgh masterplan which, when complete, will see at least 3,800 new homes, improved transport links, and a minimum of 40 acres of employment land created. The M9 junction will be formed by constructing four new slip roads centred on the existing underpass below the motorway. Served by a fully upgraded core road, it will connect Winchburgh’s town centre with the southern roundabout at the junction.As part of the planning conditions, no more than 1,000 residential units could be occupied in Winchburgh until the new M9 junction was complete. Now that work on the junction is progressing the final phases of the masterplan can move forward.Over the next 12 months, work will include completion of the main distributor road from the new school campus at Glendevon, a three-kilometre route to the new M9 junction at Duntarvie Castle, and a further junction upgrade on Kirkliston Road.Other elements of the distributor road include new bridges spanning the Union Canal at the new Town Centre and the main Edinburgh/Glasgow Rail Line. The target date for the combined motorway junction and distributor road works is spring 2023.