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There was a call in the Scottish Parliament today that the Scottish Government should be more ambitious in the proposed upgrading of the A9, and that the planned works for 2 + 1 overtaking lanes upgrade at Moy and Carrbridge should now be upgraded straight to dual carriageway.
During Ministers’ Question Time, MSP Murdo Fraser called on the Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson to dual the sections instead of the planned 2 + 1 overtaking lanes. The Strategic Transport Project Review, which sets out the Scottish Government’s plans for transport infrastructure investment, pledges to upgrade the A9 to dual carriageway.
In the Chamber, Murdo said:
“Can the Minister explain why we are spending money on 2 + 1 lanes at Moy and Carrbridge that will have to be superseded, dug up and tarmacked over again when they become dual carriageways? Surely, if the Government is serious about having dual carriageways on those sections and is not just going through the motions, it will admit that those 2 + 1 lanes are an extravagance and that the money should be used for dualling those sections now.”
In response, the Transport Minister stated:
“The key interventions that we are making at the moment are driven by safety. The intervention to dual the A9, which we are fully committed to, is an economic intervention, which we will come to as the funds are available. However, we want to get the maximum bang for our safety buck in the meantime. There is clear evidence that when we put in W2 +1 lanes that there are significant safety benefits. I am utterly determined to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads and to ensure that families do not suffer the grief and losses that result from too many accidents on them.”
Commenting afterwards, Murdo said:
“I am disappointed that the SNP Government does not recognise the opportunity they have to dual sections of the A9 straight to dual carriageway instead of 2 + 1 lanes. It does not make economic sense to dig up a road to put in 2 +1 lanes and then dig up the same road again to then upgrade it to dual carriageway. I do not see the point in causing disruption to road users with road works to do it again in a few years down the line on the same stretch of road.
“Road users want to see long term and lasting improvements to the A9. It is clear that 2 + 1 lanes are just a stop gap to full dualling and that is why the SNP Government should be more ambitious and go for dualling instead. I will continue to campaign to see the A9 dualled in its entirety between Perth and Inverness and put pressure on the SNP Government until we see the actual start of the A9 upgrade.”
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