Watch: Drew Hendry 'disappointed' and 'frustrated' over A9 dualling
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Drew Hendry has said he will devote “all my energy” towards getting a new deadline for the completion of A9 dualling scheme after confirmation last week the 2025 finish date was “unachievable.”
The MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey came in for criticism after Tweeting he thanked Transport Secretary Jenny Gilruth for clarifying the issue and blaming a “brexit, imposed upon us, and the pandemic.”
He has now clarified that “my own feelings on this are strong” and “like many of my constituents, I am both deeply disappointed and really frustrated that the 2025 target is now, officially, not going to be met.”
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He vowed to press the Scottish Government for a new date when his constituents can expect the dualling programme to be concluded after “people have already been in touch with my office expressing their anger over this.”
Mr Hendry said he has already, alongside Inverness and Nairn MSP Fergus Ewing, sought confirmation of “two clear objectives” – a new timetable for work and that the “project would not be scrapped, contrary to fears over the climate emergency.”
He said: "Last week, Scotland's Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth confirmed what many people in the Highlands were bracing themselves for – a delay in the date for completion of the dualling of the A9.
“My own feelings on this are strong, especially over something so deeply ingrained in our Highland life as the A9. Like many of my constituents, I am both deeply disappointed and really frustrated that the 2025 target is now, officially, not going to be met.
“People have already been in touch with my office expressing their anger over this, and, as a resident who uses the A9 regularly, have total sympathy for those emotions.
“When I lobbied the Scottish Finance Secretary in Holyrood last month with my colleague Fergus Ewing MSP, I sought confirmation of two clear objectives:
“Firstly – that the project would not be scrapped, contrary to fears over the climate emergency and the new makeup of the Holyrood government. I was given that firm commitment.
“Secondly - that a new, realistic timetable be published to allow some certainty and confidence going forward. I followed up on last week's announcement with a call to the Transport Minister to ensure this all happens quickly.
“I want to see how and when this work will get done. That is what I'll be channelling all my energy towards for the people of this constituency."
