More ‘innocent lives’ will be lost while SNP delay A9 dualling …
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More innocent lives will continue to be lost while the SNP falls short of its long-promised commitment to fully dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness, MSPs were warned today.
The comment was seen as a wake-up call for new Scottish Government transport chief Fiona Hyslop on her first day in the job, one week after Aberdeen Central MSP Kevin Stewart left the role.
Four SNP politicians have now held the role in the past two years.
Laura Hansler, a campaigner from Kingraig near Aviemore, was in Holyrood to hammer home her message that widening the A9 needs to be a priority.
MSPs were warned:
- Upgrades may not be completed in full until at least 2050.
- Locals fear the road and don’t want to use it.
- Future dualling bids between Tomatin and Moy may cost even more than a previously rejected offer, according to engineers.
Ms Hansler opened a petition on Holyrood’s website[1] to improve road safety on the A9 last year in the wake of a social media campaign.
The SNP promised to dual the route to the Highlands in 2009, and said all upgrades would be finished by 2025.
A9 campaigner Laura Hansler. Image: Supplied.
Earlier this year former transport minister Jenny Gilruth confirmed that commitment would no longer be met.
Now locals have been left in limbo as to when the government will meet their vow to fully widen the 80-mile stretch of road between Perth and Inverness.
Ms Hansler highlighted more than 300 deaths occurred due to accidents on the A9 since 1979.
She told MSPs most fatalities on the route come as a result of head-on collisions.
The activist wants a memorial to be established on the A9 to commemorate those who have died and point out which ministers have failed to live up to their promises.
Fiona Hyslop is the SNP’s new transport minister.
She said: “Innocent people are playing with their lives day in, day out on the A9. It appears to be getting treated like a country backroad.
“A total of 335 people have now lost their lives on the Perth-Inverness section of the A9 since 1979.
“These people are not statistics that I will allow to be hidden in a drawer to make these situations more palatable.
“Many more lives are going to be lost on the A9 over the coming months.”
A9 dualling situation ‘utterly shambolic’
Ms Hansler fears the full project may not be completed until 2050, but warned this was a “conservative” estimate given ongoing holdups.
She branded this an “utterly shambolic state of affairs”.
On Monday, civil engineers slated the government’s handling of the long-overdue upgrades[2] and claimed they knew for years the vow would not be met.
Grahame Barn, chief executive of the Civil Engineering Contractors Association[3], also appeared in parliament alongside Ms Hansler.
He claimed government agency Transport Scotland’s contracts put too much of the financial risk on firms who would otherwise bid to upgrade sections of the A9.
Instead he believes the government should offer a “new engineering contract” which has become the “industry standard” since 1993.
In May, then transport chief Ms Gilruth confirmed a bid to carry out upgrades between Tomatin and Moy had been rejected due to high costs.
However, Mr Barn warned any firms which apply in future may demand even more money since construction costs have gone up.
That means the government may have delayed dualling this particular stretch of the A9 without any financial benefit in the long-run.
Just weeks ago, an 18-year-old man died following a crash[4] between a car and a lorry near Tomatin.
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government remains firmly committed to completing the dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness.
“The £3 billion investment to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness is one of the biggest transport infrastructure projects in Scotland’s history.
“Our sympathy is with everyone who has been affected by the loss of a loved one, and with anyone who has been injured on our roads. One death on our roads is simply one too many.”
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References
- ^ opened a petition on Holyrood’s website (www.pressandjournal.co.uk)
- ^ slated the government’s handling of the long-overdue upgrades (www.pressandjournal.co.uk)
- ^ Civil Engineering Contractors Association (www.ceca.co.uk)
- ^ 18-year-old man died following a crash (www.pressandjournal.co.uk)
- ^ Sign in (www.pressandjournal.co.uk)