THE Transport Secretary has announced “major progress” on the Scottish Government’s plans to dual the A9.
Fiona Hyslop said a route for the stretch of the road between Killiecrankie and Glen Garry has now been confirmed.
She also said the publication of Made Orders – a legal term which allows the Government to authorise a road construction project – for two more sections of the road is expected within a few months.
It comes after it was revealed that the total cost of upgrading the six-mile Tomatin to Moy stretch would cost £308 million – £111m more than originally planned.
Hyslop said preparatory work to dual that section of the A9 will begin later this month.
The tender for the stretch between Tomatin and Moy in the Highlands previously returned just a single bid, which was deemed not to be value for money for the taxpayer.
As a result, ministers were forced to push back the original 2025 deadline for dualling the road between Perth and Inverness by a decade.
Hyslop said the Scottish Government is determined to complete the £3 billion infrastructure project.
She said: “Following the go-ahead for the scheme after the public local inquiry, today’s announcement of the publication of the Made Orders for this section between Killiecrankie and Glen Garry, demonstrates this Government’s unwavering commitment to progress our A9 Dualling delivery plan to complete dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness by the end of 2035.
“Transport Scotland engaged extensively with the local community and key stakeholders throughout the design and made a number of design refinements to reduce land take on the battlefield site following feedback from Historic Environment Scotland and the local community.”
Hyslop said Made Orders for the Crubenmore to Kincraig and Dalraddy to Slochd sections of the A9 will soon be published.
She said the contract for the Tay Crossing to Ballinluig section should be awarded in the summer of 2025 – promising there would be “no let-up” in the work to upgrade the vital road.
About 11 miles of the road has been upgraded over the last 10 years, with 77 miles yet to go.
The Transport Secretary said: “We are committed to delivering a safe, reliable, resilient and dualled A9 between Perth and Inverness in line with our published delivery plan, which anticipates dualling to be operational by the end of 2035.
“Whilst the magnitude and complexities of this work are considerable, there will be no let-up on progressing the dualling programme which will bring many benefits to local communities, businesses, visitors and road users living, travelling and working along the corridor including reduced journey times, improved journey time reliability, improved road safety and opportunities for active travel.”
