Labour Highlands and Islands MSP Rhoda Grant has said that the Scottish Government must make the dualling of the A9 an ‘absolute priority.’

Rhoda Grant was responding to the conclusions reached by the Scottish Parliament’s Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee Inquiry into the A9 Dualling Programme.

The Committee said that “The Scottish Government’s failure to reach agreement on programme funding significantly contributed to progress stalling as the programme was reaching the procurement and construction stages. In addition to the funding issue, an unwillingness from Transport Scotland to address industry concerns about the balance of risk in its design and build contracts also led to programme drift.”

It was the minority Scottish Government of First Minister Alex Salmond elected in 2005 which identified Dualling the A9 as a priority. Unfortunately opposition MSPs instead voted to allocate the funding which would have been used to upgrade the A9, to the Edinburgh Trams project which was in extreme financial difficulties. £500million went to Edinburgh’s trams.

In 2011, The SNP Scottish Government of Alex Salmond, now with a majority, made a commitment  to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness by 2025.

 Between 2011 and September 2022, there were 52 fatalities on the A9 the majority of which have occurred on single carriageway sections. During the course of the Committee’s inquiry (2023-2024), 11 people lost their lives on the A9.

A new report commissioned by Cabinet Secretary for Transport in the Scottish Government, Fiona Hyslop, recommends that the current schedule for the delivery plan be maintained, “as it achieves overall completion of the dualling programme earlier than could be achieved if works were rescheduled.”

The A9 Dualling programme is divided into three sections: A9 Dualling North, A9 Dualling Central and A9 Dualling South.

The Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee in February 2023  began considering a petition :

Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to deliver on the commitment it made in 2011, and address safety concerns on the A9 by:

• publishing a revised timetable and detailed plan for dualling each section;
• completing the dualling work by 2025; and
• creating a memorial to those who have lost their lives in road traffic incidents on the A9.

After holding initial meetings the Committee upgraded its scrutiny to the level of an inquiry. Click on this link for the Inquiry report.

the Scottish Government estimate that the total scheme cost to complete the A9 dualling programme is £3.7 billion at April 2023 prices. When adjusted for inflation, this figure is equivalent to £2.45 billion at April 2008, indicating the programme remains within the original cost estimate of £3 billion at 2008 prices. This £3.7 billion figure is considerably lower than totals quoted in discussion papers provided by Transport Scotland to Scottish Ministers in 2021 and 2022, which indicated costs of between £4.5 billion and £6.25 billion for traditional capital funded and hybrid procurement options. Inquiry into the Dualling of the A9

The Committee has recommended that the Scottish Government consult on the proposal for a national memorial.

Speaking after the debate in the Scottish Parliament on 16 January Rhoda Grant said:

“The inquiry undertaken by the Committee has been both meticulous and robust and I welcome its findings. The Scottish Government previously committed to dualling the road by 2025. We are now looking at 2035 but already there are concerns about potentials delays.

“The Committee report calls for clarity in key decision points for the rest of the A9 Dualling Programme including specific dates when funding requires to be available or released.

“It also recommends that a dedicated Parliamentary Committee should be established to provide oversight on major infrastructure projects like this. A Parliamentary Committee was established to oversee the Queensferry Crossing project in the central belt so the same level of priority should have been put in place here too but it wasn’t.

“The people of the Highlands, and the wider Islands, have been treated abysmally but more than that, families are grieving the deaths of their loved ones who have died on this road. The Scottish Government must now make this an absolute priority.”

The Cabinet Secretary for Transport in the Scottish Government is Fiona Hyslop she welcomed the report by the committee. Speaking during the debate she said:

“Much has changed since the committee began its consideration of the petition, and its report recognises that. The delivery plan for completion of the A9 dualling programme was announced in December 2023. That plan involves the procurement of four design and build contracts as well as, subject to further decisions to be made in late 2025, the procurement of two mutual investment model—MIM—contracts. That approach was supported by a Cabinet decision to prioritise the completion of the A9 dualling programme within its budgets.

“Since the announcement of that plan, the Government has made good progress, including through commencing procurement of the Tay crossing to Ballinluig project in May 2024; the awarding of the contract for the Tomatin to Moy project in July 2024; publication of orders for the Killiecrankie to Glen Garry and Dalraddy to Slochd projects; and progression of the land acquisition processes for the Tay crossing to Ballinluig, Pitlochry to Killiecrankie, Glen Garry to Dalwhinnie and Dalwhinnie to Crubenmore projects.”

And she concluded:

” I reiterate my commitment to providing transparency and certainty on the progress of the A9 dualling programme as it moves forward in the months and years ahead. I encourage members to take advantage of the regular updates and briefings, and to sign up for the newsletters and publicise them to their constituents so that they can remain informed on the progress of this vital programme of work. The committee did its job of scrutiny. Although it looked at the past, it also made recommendations for the future.”

Fiona Grahame