Highland MSP presses for meeting with Scottish Transport Minister on A9 dualling progress
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A Highlands and Islands Labour MSP has again called for a meeting with Scotland’s Transport Minister to press for urgent progress on the dualling of the A9.
Recent statistics show there have been eight deaths on a 25-mile stretch of the road in Badenoch and Strathspey in just three months with fatalities also occurring on other stretches of the road during this time too.
The carriageway at the Slochd and Raliabeag south of Newtonmore have been the scene of multiple fatalities.
Rhoda Grant said: “I continue to have constituents contact me pleading for improvements on the road before anyone else loses a life.
“I am extremely disappointed that the Minister has not yet responded to my request for a meeting and I have contacted her again asking for the opportunity to meet her to discuss the very real need for progress with dualling the rest of this road.
“If the Scottish Government is to meet its 2025 target for completing the dualling it really needs to inject a sense of urgency to move this forward before another family suffers the heart-break of losing a loved one.”
The MSP asked Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth for a meeting in early September.
In a written response on the dualling progress of the A9 in the summer, the Minister had stated: "Work to determine the most suitable procurement options for the remaining sections of the A9 dualling is ongoing.
"This is a complex exercise which looks at a number of factors including how the project can be delivered most efficiently by the industry, whilst minimising disruption to road users and helping to support economic recovery post-Covid.
"An update on the outcomes of this complex piece of work will be provided when the work is completed."
