What are other parties saying about the new A9 dualling programme?
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Today's announcement that entire A9 dualling programme between Inverness and Perth should be completed by the end of 2035 has prompted political rebuke.
Labour described a 10-year delay as "a shameful betrayal" of communities while a Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP said the Highlands would not be appeased by the completion of a "little section".
This afternoon's update by Scotland's Transport secretary Mairi McAllan on the new plans comes after the Scottish Government admitted in February that its original promised deadline to have the section completely dualled by 2025 was unachievable.
Responding to the new timescales, Scottish Labour transport spokesperson Alex Rowley said: "This is a shameful betrayal of the communities that have been given assurances over dualling for years from this government.
"This news will be a hammer-blow to businesses and communities and means that safety concerns will persist for over another decade."
Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant said the announcement of one section to be dualled in the next four years would not pacify her constituents’ anger at the lack of progress.
She is also asking for more detail about how the new plan will be achieved.
"This government knew it was not going to meet its 2025 promise, yet tried to hide that," she said.
"I asked the Cabinet Secretary if she will give detail as to the key differences between design and build and Mutual Investment Models, and where the risk for each lies, and if she would tell my constituents how they can realistically gauge progress towards completion themselves, given the government’s deception in the past?
"I didn’t get answers to these questions but I will continue to press the Scottish Government to provide this detail."
Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP Edward Mountain said: "There’s a lot of cabinet secretaries and ministers within this Government who hold collectively responsibility for not dualling the A9.
"The completion of this little section is not going to appease the Highlands, but the buck stops with Nicola Sturgeon.
"If she wanted it, it would have happened."
But Highlands and Islands SNP MSP Emma Roddick was grateful for the update and for the Cabinet' Secretary's acknowledgement of her constituents' disappointment regarding the completion of the project.
"The plans outlined by the Cabinet Secretary laid out the complexity of the task at hand and I appreciate her honesty on the timescales involved." she said.
"The A9 is rightly seen as Scotland’s backbone and is vital for connecting the Highlands to the rest of Scotland, not only for the movement of individuals and families but for freight for businesses.
"I have been clear in the past that I share the disappointment of many of my constituents at the slow rate of progress in completing this project.
"I am hopeful that the Cabinet Secretary’s comprehensive update on the Scottish Government’s plans will go some way to reassure my constituents that the SNP remains committed to this vital project."
The Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee, Jackson Carlaw, said: "The revised timetable for the A9 project and confirmation of work finally starting on the Tomatin to Moy section is welcome.
"However, the glacial pace of the overall project will remain a frustration to the businesses and communities we’ve heard from in relation to Laura Hansler’s petition.
"What the statement didn’t address was why it appears so little action was taken by successive Transport Ministers to avoid failures.
"The committee inquiry will continue to consider what went wrong and when, why this was allowed to happen and finally what can be done to ultimately ensure this project is now delivered on time to the revised plan.
"Ensuring this vital project, which will save lives, better connect communities and help grow Scotland’s economy is now delivered by the new 2035 deadline must now be the focus of our attention."
