As a Highlander, if I am elected First Minister it will be a major priority for me to deliver on the promises that the Scottish Government have made for around 15 years – to dual the A9.
Industry tells me that the A9 dualling from Perth to Inverness needs to be completed by around the end of this decade, but that is only deliverable if the procurement processes change radically.
They say that unless this happens it may take till 2050 or even beyond to finish the job. That is unacceptable and unthinkable.
Inverness is the only city in Scotland that lacks dual carriageway or motorway links.
This matters. Not only because a car is a necessity for most Highland people, not some kind of luxury item, but also because, as we have seen so tragically last year, it is a matter of life and death.
Thirteen lives were lost in incidents on the A9 between Perth and Inverness. Of those, all but one occurred on single carriageway sections.
Evidence from transport experts proves that fatalities are three times as likely to occur on single carriageway than dual, and 10 times more than on motorways.
Roads themselves do not cause incidents. But single carriageways with difficult junctions, swift change between single and dual, and many foreign drivers unfamiliar with the road or driving on the left, are unforgiving of driver error. There is also no central reservation to separate opposing flows of traffic.
Timetable to accelerate progress
In my first week in office I will instruct Transport Scotland to consider whether it can deliver a plan to dual the A9 by the end of the decade. A timetable must be published by June at the very latest and certainly not in the autumn.
Transport Scotland have had nearly two years since the election to do this, and since Covid we have all known that the 2025 target would be challenging.
I want Transport Scotland to work collaboratively with the civil engineering industry to devise means, whether by framework agreement or otherwise, to accelerate the progress. Risk sharing should be practised as I believe it is in England and some local authorities.
Promises matter. Where we make them we must keep them. It’s about honesty and trust, and that shall be my approach if I am elected First Minister.
Kate Forbes is Scotland’s finance secretary
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