Death of A9 dualling pledge creates anger on a scale 'never seen' before
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No apology and no responsibility for the “betrayal” of the Highlands – the Scottish Government has finally admitted it will fail to dual the deadly A9 from Inverness to Perth by 2025 as anger mounts across the north.
This week, transport minister Jenny Gilruth revealed in Holyrood the dualling programme was “unachievable” by its deadline as she confirmed that the government was breaking a manifesto promise made in 2007.
The latest setback – at the Tomatin to Moy section – has led to a call for a Parliamentary Inquiry into the handling of the issue by the Scottish Government and its agency Transport Scotland.
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The fault, Ms Gilruth said, was a series of factors beyond the control of the SNP including Brexit, inflation, the war in Ukraine and the pandemic – a view supported by Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey MP Drew Hendry.
He said: "I don't believe anyone thought that the A9 dualling could have been completed by 2025 against the background of a Brexit, imposed upon us, and the pandemic.
"It is, however, important that this project continues as an absolute commitment. Thanks Jenny Gilruth for making that clear.”
But the normally assured SNP MP misjudged public opinion.
'At least Fergus Ewing has a backbone'
In one abrupt response he was told: “At least Fergus Ewing has a backbone” – referring to the veteran Inverness and Nairn SNP MSP who voiced his fury at the “devastating news for my constituents” most of all “for those who have lost loved ones” on the road.
His verdict was: “It’s simply a betrayal of the Highlands and of the people who have supported the SNP.”
Yesterday, he called for an inquiry, stating the announcement had "created anger in the Highlands on a scale I have never seen in three decades in politics".
He insisted an inquiry was now essential because there are so many unanswered questions and he believes there would be substantial cross-party support for it.
Among his questions are: "What influence has the Green Party had behind the scenes on decision making, since they oppose dualling, despite the number of people who have lost their lives in road traffic incidents on single carriageway sections of the A9?
"And, will the Scottish Government now devote much more of their capital budget on the dualling programme – and if not just how long would the dualling take?"
Is the government still committed not just to the A9 but the Highlands?
Even the SNP’s Emma Roddick, entering her second year as a Highland MSP, felt the need to ask Ms Gilruth for assurances that the Scottish Government was still committed not just to dualling, but the people of the north in general.
She said: “I can't overstate how difficult it will be for locals to believe that this project will be carried out in the face of another delay and I hope that the minister is able to provide assurance that the Scottish Government remains committed, not only to this project but the people of the Highlands.”
While regional Labour MSP Rhoda Grant could barely contain her fury, saying: “This is a total betrayal of the Highlands and yet another broken election promise.
“Lives are being lost on this dangerous road while communities go without the upgrades they have waited years for. This is a mess of the SNP’s own making – and the minister’s desperate excuses can’t hide that.”
One mile dualled a year since 2011
The reason for the outpouring is that 16 years on from the manifesto promise and 11 years after the policy commitment just 11 miles have been dualled between Inverness and Perth.
Just two sections out of 11 – from Kincraig to Dalraddy and from Luncarty to Pass of Birnam – have been completed at a cost of £430 million.
It got worse when Ms Gilruth announced that the Tomatin to Moy section that was due to be constructed next would now go back to tender because ministers decided the “significantly higher” bid “would not represent best value for the taxpayer”.
Failure counted in lives
The failure to deliver is one thing but towering above it is the lives lost on the road.
A FOI published late last year showed that on the whole A9 between 2009 and October 2022 that 116 people died and there were 850 crashes.
Last year, 13 people died which is the highest since 2010 yet along the full length of the road that extends to Scrabster north of Thurso that figure rose to 17, the highest death toll since 2009 according to Police Scotland.
No timetable, no cost estimates and no apology
While Ms Gilruth provided an “absolute” commitment the project will ultimately be completed she was short on answers about when that would happen saying a new timetable could be presented to parliament in autumn.
Conservative Highland MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston noted that no apology was forthcoming from the Scottish Government, a grating absence in light of the fatalities on the route.
“While the SNP have finally admitted this, we have no new timetable for delivery, no new estimate on costs and no apology,” he said.
“The minister wouldn’t even tell me how many years behind this project actually is, or even come clean on when she was first told the 2025 date wasn’t going to be met.
“Local communities have been kept in the dark for years on when – and even, if – this project will ever be completed. This latest update provides only more uncertainty.”
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