Far north community councillor asks: 'Why was A9 shut for so long?'
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Community councillors in Wick want to know why the "lifeline" A9 had to remain closed for so long after Saturday's serious accident in Sutherland.
A section of the trunk road near Dunrobin Castle was shut for around seven hours following a collision between a car and a motorbike. One person was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
The crash happened at around 10am and community councillor Wendy Campbell was among those caught up in the tailbacks before the road reopened around 5pm.
Speaking at the monthly meeting of the Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council on Monday night, Mrs Campbell said: "Why was it shut for so long? I know there are a lot of serious accidents, and you feel sorry for anybody that is involved in them.
"That is one issue. But the next issue is that on Saturday it was closed for about seven hours and there was a queue from the opening of Dunrobin to very nearly Brora.
"If you've got children in the back of a car, it's quite hard to keep them occupied for an hour, never mind seven hours.
"There was no information at all, nothing about drinks or toilets... There was absolutely nothing for seven hours. And that's not the first time it has been shut for a long time.
"They started to go round by Rogart but then a car went in the ditch."
Community councillor Joanna Coghill observed: "It's our lifeline, that main road."
Co-opted member Claire Mackenzie said: "I know there are a lot of really bad accidents on that road. But given some of the photos you saw after that, there could have quite easily been a convoy system in place to allow people to move past."
Community councillor Alastair Ferrier explained that police officers have to treat such a location as a possible crime scene, adding: "You cannot have a convoy coming through it."
Mrs Mackenzie said: "If somebody in my family needed to get down that road in a medical emergency and they were stuck in seven hours of traffic I'd be losing my rag."
Mrs Campbell pointed out: "I think if it was an emergency vehicle it would get through."
In reply, Mrs Mackenzie said there was potential for someone to become unwell in their car.
Mrs Campbell told the meeting: "What a lot of people are saying is, 'Why is the road always shut for so long?' By the time we got past, the road had been swept. They could have started letting those cars through a lot sooner.
"That is one question. And also where's the information going to come from to let people know it's going to be half an hour, is it going to be an hour?
"They've got to come up with something. It just seems that we can be shut off up here and that's it."
Chairman Allan Farquhar said: "We'll ask the question."
Police Scotland said its officers appreciated the disruption caused by long road closures but added that such measures are vital for their investigations.
Road Policing Inspector Donald MacKinnon said: “Around 10am on Saturday, September 30, we were made aware of a serious crash involving a car and a motorbike on the A9 near Dunrobin Castle.
“The road was closed for emergency services to attend and a local diversion for non-HGV traffic was put in place.
“Specialist road policing collision investigation officers also attended as part of our enquiries to establish the full circumstances.
“The road was opened around 5pm when this work had been completed and it was safe to do so.
“Whenever there is a crash we can appreciate the disruption that a long road closure can cause but such a measure is vital for officers to carry out an investigation while ensuring the safety of all.
“We ask the public to be patient when a road closure is put in place and to take care on any diversion that is put in place.”
The trunk road maintenance and management firm BEAR Scotland has also been asked to comment.
