Far north councillors call for 'urgent upgrade' after A9 closures two days in a row
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Three councillors in the far north are demanding an "urgent upgrade" of a stretch of the A9 in Sutherland in the wake of serious accidents that led to the road being closed for lengthy periods two days in a row last month.
Caithness members Ron Gunn and Matthew Reiss along with Sutherland councillor Richard Gale insist that improvements between Brora and Helmsdale are needed "as a matter of priority".
In a motion that will go before a full Highland Council meeting on Thursday, they call on the council leader to seek meetings with Scottish Government ministers and the government agency Transport Scotland.
Councillors Gunn and Reiss represent Thurso and Northwest Caithness, while Councillor Gale is a member for East Sutherland and Edderton.
They highlight the number of Caithness residents who travel up and down the northern A9 for appointments at Raigmore Hospital – working out at an average of 24 a day – as well as the frequency of patient transfers by ambulance between Wick and Inverness, calculated to be more than 500 a year.
On September 20, two motorbikes were involved in a collision at Lothmore. The following day, three vehicles were involved in a crash just south of Portgower.
There were lengthy road closures in each case, with nearby residents being praised for offering refreshments to waiting motorists.
The motion states: “The A9 north is the main arterial route to and from Caithness. In recent weeks there have been two consecutive days when the road between Brora and Helmsdale has been closed for more than six hours due to life-threatening accidents.
"This stretch of road consists of many blind bends and a narrow bridge that cannot accommodate two commercial vehicles and as such has a high accident rate.
"To be clear, the closing of this road results in the virtual isolation of the north from Helmsdale to Wick, Thurso and indeed Orkney as there are no practical means of diversion. The result is that essential services cannot reach their destinations in either direction.
"The A9, Scotland’s second most dangerous road and part of the North Coast 500, is very busy with tourists and locals.
"There are over 6000 appointments in Raigmore for Caithness residents each year, which is an average of 24 appointments per day [based on the number of days on which appointments are available] and in this scenario that equates to 48 people who could not attend their appointment, many of which may have involved a wait of more than a year to get.
"The Scottish Ambulance Service has over 500 patient transfers a year between Wick and Inverness. That’s more than one trip a day and these are patients who need transportation in an ambulance often requiring a ‘blue light’ journey.
"Wick has a CMU [community midwifery unit] but very few mothers give birth there, with over 90 per cent of mothers having to travel to Inverness or further to give birth. Last year alone 170 mothers had to travel to Inverness and five further afield.
"The majority, over 60 per cent, have to travel south in a private car as very few go by ambulance. As a result, any delay could have serious consequences for a woman in labour, as they could be forced to give birth at the side of the road with no medical support.
"Given that this vital link is prone to disruption at any time, and that Transport Scotland has allocated zero funding for improving this section of road, the leader of this council will write to and arrange meetings with Transport Scotland and Scottish Government transport ministers and press them to commit to an urgent upgrade of the road between Brora and Helmsdale as a matter of priority.”
