Fix killer A9 sooner, urges MSP

Dec 9 2011 by Denis Brown, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

A COMMITTED A9 safety campaigner has accused the Scottish Government of dragging its heels over dualling works between Perth and Inverness.

Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser, who runs website www.dualtheA9.com website with almost 12,000 supporters onboard, believes the massive £4billion task should begin sooner rather than later.

Welcoming the SNP government’s announcement that the main north-south route upgrade would be rolled out in 2017 under parliament’s capital programme, the Tory lamented a lack of detail in plans that were not set in concrete.

“It is worrying that the A9 commitment start date is not even in the lifetime of this parliamentary term and there are fears that a future Scottish Government may alter these dates and plans,” he said.

“That is why I want the SNP Government to have the ambition to start dualling the A9 before 2017.

“It is a fact that this road has been claiming too many lives, causing too many accidents and holding back our economy.

“We cannot wait until 2017 to start the full dualling of the A9. Every year that passes we will sadly witness more and more fatal accidents on this road and more and more families will have their lives shattered.”

The A9’s reputation as a killer road is backed up by hard facts, with official records demonstrating it had the highest or joint-highest fatality rate of all roads in Scotland in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008.

An average of 200 crashes per year were recorded on the A9 between 2004 and 2008, with a total of 1041 during that period.

Since 2008, when the SNP drew a line in the sand with a pre-election promise to dual the notorious stretch of road between Perth and Inverness, pressure has been mounting for the government elect to follow through.

But while plans now appear to be in motion, the £4billion project to convert the 115-mile stretch to dual-carriageway is not scheduled for completion until 2025, five years later than first flagged by ministers.

Mr Fraser said it was due to the hard work and pressure from thousands of campaigners – many family members or friends of those who had died on the A9 – that the government had committed to the A9 project.

“The SNP government must now provide a full statement in the Scottish Parliament on the future of the dualling of the A9, so campaigners and families who lost loved ones on this road know all the details and plans for this road,” he said.

“We will not see a spade hit the earth to start the planned upgrades until 2017 – which will be 10 years after the SNP government was first elected on its manifesto pledge to dual the A9 in its entirety from Perth to Inverness.”

Perth and Kinross Council leader Ian Miller said: “I am delighted that the importance of dualling the A9 has been recognised by the Scottish Government.

“Dualling this vital route will provide safer and quicker road travel between Perth and Inverness. Major infrastructure projects such as this are important for the long-term benefit of both the local and national economy.”