A9 doesn’t end at Inverness: Caithness groups heartened by transport secretary’s comment
Groups in Caithness calling for improvements to the northern A9 have welcomed an acknowledgement by Scotland’s transport secretary that the trunk road goes “all the way up to Thurso”.
Fiona Hyslop made the remark after the publication of a report on the inquiry into the Scottish Government’s broken promise to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness by 2025.
The Scottish Parliament’s Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee found that a lack of agreement on the availability and type of funding “significantly contributed” to the failure to achieve the target.
According to the report, the committee remains concerned about “whether funding will be available when it needs to be” in order to meet the revised 2035 deadline.
During the evidence-gathering stage of the inquiry, Iain Gregory submitted information on behalf of Thurso Community Council, of which he is secretary. It also reflected the views of two campaign groups, Caithness Roads Recovery (CRR), which Mr Gregory co-founded, and Caithness Health Action Team (CHAT), of which he is vice-chairman.
He wrote that ideally the A9 would be dualled all the way to Scrabster, and to Wick on the A99. “We appreciate this may not happen,” the submission added, “but we do expect that major improvements should be made all the way to these destinations, and that these works should be carried out very swiftly.
“The A9 does not end at Inverness, and the people of the far north are entitled to far better than the present 1950s infrastructure.”
Benefits would include reduced journey times, less driver frustration and safer journeys. The submission also mentioned medical emergencies and increased traffic associated with renewables and tourism.
It also stated: “The agreed project must include essential and major works to the wholly inadequate and dangerous road north to Sutherland and Caithness.”
In a BBC interview, Ms Hyslop said: “The A9 is not just Perth and Inverness, which is the subject of dualling, but obviously [it goes] all the way up to Thurso... There’s a whole load of areas around road safety that I am taking very seriously.”
Mr Gregory said: “CRR, CHAT and Thurso Community Council have taken encouragement from her acknowledgement that the A9 does not end at Inverness, which we sincerely hope will – eventually – be dualled, but indeed continues for a further 106 miles from Inverness to Thurso and Scrabster, and the A99, which is also in need of substantial upgrades, continues from Latheron to Wick.
“We have been actively campaigning for upgrades to the A9 and A99 for some time, and it is vital that the Scottish Government acts swiftly to ensure that substantial investment follows this statement by Fiona Hyslop.”
In July this year, local MSP Maree Todd was told that any long-term loss of part of the northern A9 would be “disastrous” for Caithness and Sutherland.
The warning came from Highland councillor Matthew Reiss as he requested details of any improvement schemes planned for the trunk road north of Tain.
Ms Todd responded by acknowledging that A9 safety “remains a significant concern” for her constituents in Caithness. She contacted the government agency Transport Scotland to highlight concerns raised by Councillor Reiss and to ask about plans for any improvement schemes.
