A9 Highland dual carriageway plans met with delight and scepticism
The Scottish Government’s announcement that the A9 Perth-Inverness road will be dualled by 2025 has been hailed as proof that Highland transport links are no longer being treated as "second class".
But Chief Secretary to the Treasury at Westminster and local Lib Dem MP Danny Alexander claimed there was no substance behind the plans, describing them as "still stuck in Nationalist Neverland".
The SNP Government also revealed plans to complete the dualling of the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen and have a dualled road network between all of Scotland’s cities by 2030 as part of a £60 billion Infrastructure Investment Plan.
No details or timescales for dualling sections of the A9 were included in the announcement, other than that a phased programme would start in 2017.
Other work includes the complete construction of replacement crossing over the Firth of Forth by 2016, and investment in substantial rail improvements including cutting journey times on the main Highland line between Inverness, the strath and Perth.
Badenoch SNP MSP Dave Thompson said the announcement demonstrated the Scottish Government’s commitment to improving the lives and economic fortunes of the Highlands.
He said: "No longer will Highlanders and those who visit this area have to accept a dangerous and second class road link to the rest of their country because Governments whose priorities lie far to the south of the area were unwilling to make the investment needed to give them the same standard of transport taken for granted in other parts of the country."
However, Mr Alexander said the plans represented a huge missed opportunity for the strath and wider Highlands.
He said: "It confirms that the SNP will do nothing to begin dualling the A9 in two full terms of office.
"Last week’s Autumn Statement gave the SNP an extra £433 million to invest in Scotland’s infrastructure right now – but there is precious little sign of that boost being passed on to people in the Highlands."
The Infrastructure Investment Plan also includes high speed rail, and estimates a cost of £15 billion for completion of the route, from North West England to Scotland, with a Scottish contribution of £8 billion to £9 billion.
Minister’s will continue to press for this to come to Scotland at the earliest opportunity, although final decisions on timing and route rest with the Westminster Government.
