Fury as the Scottish Government confirms it will miss the 2025 deadline to dual A9
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Transport minister Jenny Gilruth confirmed this afternoon that dualling the A9 will not be complete by 2025 – what many already knew but the Scottish Government refused to confirm.
The news unleashed a torrent of outrage from Highland MSPs with Inverness and Nairn member Fergus Ewing saying Highlanders would meet the revelation “with shock, incredulity and anger.”
And that was from Ms Gilruth’s own side, from the Labour benches Rhoda Grant slammed the confirmation as a “gross betrayal” and shameful as “lives are being lost on this dangerous road.”
The Conservatives Jamie Halcro Johnston wanted answers as to when Ms Gilruth’s “absolute” commitment to the dualling programme would be done but he got none saying her statement created more uncertainty.
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.”
The frustration of north MSPs was clear when the SNP’s Emma Roddick took to her feet to ask for assurances that the government remained committed not just to the programme but to the people of the entire north of Scotland she represents.
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”
The responses from furious Highland MSPs:
Emma Roddick, SNP, Highland and Islands MSP
“I'm certain that correspondence is already coming in from constituents who are extremely disappointed and concerned about the news about Tomatin to Moy. And I have to say that I share their disappointment.
“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, amidst continued accidents and fatalities on the road that it has committed to dualling.
“Can she please give some more detail on how severely restarting the procurement process could delay the dualling of this stretch of road and can she tell me whether there is an issue with the Transport Scotland procurement process which makes it unattractive to bidders?”
Fergus Ewing, SNP, Inverness and Nairn MSP
“Today’s news will be met in the Highlands with shock, incredulity and anger. So I ask the minister why does Transport Scotland unlike its counterparts south of the border put all risks of unforeseen costs on contractors?
“Surely that makes and has made bidding less attractive. And why is it – nearly two years into this parliament – that we still do not have a revised timetable to replace a deadline that every single person in the Highlands knows was never going to be achieved.
Jamie Halcro Johnston, Conservative, Highland and Islands MSP
“This news will come as no surprise to anyone. Those who live in communities along the A9, or who regularly use the road, have known for some time that the promised 2025 date was going to be missed.
“But while the SNP have finally admitted this, we have no new timetable for delivery, no new estimate on costs and no apology.
“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”.
Rhoda Grant, Labour, Highlands and Islands MSP
“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.
“It is shameful that on the day Volodymyr Zelensky is addressing the UK Parliament, SNP Ministers are trying to blame the war in Ukraine for the their failure to deliver a manifesto pledge from 2007.
“This is a mess of the SNP’s own making – and the Minister’s desperate excuses can’t hide that. The SNP need to come clean and tell us when they will actually deliver this long overdue promise.”
