£7m Broxden Filter Lanes to Divert Traffic Away From Roundabout, Into Slightly Smaller Roundabout, Then Back Into Roundabout
Engineers confirm plan will free up Broxden 'for the exclusive use of people who are lost'.
A motorist approaches Broxden roundabout with the quiet dread of a man who has done it before.
PERTH — Perthshire’s most notorious roundabout could be transformed by a £7 million package of filter lanes designed to divert A9 and M90 traffic away from Broxden itself, under proposals being drawn up for Tay Cities Region Deal funding.
“The beauty of the plan is that most drivers will never touch Broxden again,” said Senior Junction Strategist Graham Ritchie, unrolling a map so covered in arrows that it appeared to be moving. “They’ll glide past on a filter lane, wave at the roundabout like an old friend, and carry on to Stirling. Or Dundee. Or, in some cases, back to Broxden, because that’s just what Broxden does to people.”
Currently there is only one filter lane at the junction, which regulars describe as “the only part of Broxden where you feel truly free”. Officials hope to add several more, though they concede this will require “deals to be done with adjacent landowners”, one of whom is understood to be a Premier Inn.
Commuters have welcomed the news with the cautious optimism of people who have been here before. “I’ve been going round Broxden since 1998,” said Bridge of Earn sales rep Kevin Laing, 51. “Not daily. Continuously. I went on to get some milk and I’m still looking for my exit. My kids are at university now. I’ve seen them graduate on FaceTime from the inside lane.”
Local mapmakers say the filter lanes could finally end the area’s famous “Broxden Loop”, in which visitors heading for Inverness accidentally complete six full circuits, end up on the M90, and settle in Kinross.
Not everyone is happy. Broxden’s park-and-ride users fear losing what one called “the excitement of not knowing whether you’ll survive the Glasgow Road exit”.
Transport Scotland has confirmed its support in principle. At press time, engineers had begun a feasibility study, and were last seen entering the roundabout on Tuesday afternoon. They have not yet come out.
The real story: £7m filter lanes plan to tackle congestion at Broxden roundabout (The Courier, 13 Oct 2026)
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