The hunt for a new contractor to dual a six-mile stretch of the A9 is expected to move up a gear today, while campaigners brace for more details of the long-overdue project.
The P&J understands the process is now under way on the Moy-Tomatin stretch, which was delayed earlier this year because only one tender had been lodged at too high a price.
Details of the dualling plan are expected to come on the day Humza Yousaf sets out his plans for government in Holyrood.
Campaigners and MSPs want nothing short of a guarantee about the overdue scheme to dual the full route between Perth and Inverness, as promised in 2011 by Alex Salmond.
Petitioner Laura Hansler, who is leading a campaign through the Scottish Parliament, said: “We’re expecting details and timings for the whole route, as promised. We can’t keep getting excuses.”
Mr Yousaf has previously stuck to the line that timings for each section of the incomplete route will follow in autumn.
That is still expected to be the case when he stands up before MSPs in Holyrood today.
SNP backbencher Fergus Ewing is among those who will want his party to live up to its promises.
Tomatin-Moy second attempt
The Tomatin-Moy stretch of the A9 was supposed to be under way already but the bid to dual it was rejected in February.
At the same time, the Scottish Government admitted the 2025 target for the entire 80-mile road was no longer achievable.
Memorably, Mr Ewing had said he’d “eat his hat” if the government completed it in that time.
The first attempt at finding a contractor started in February 2021 in a scheme worth £115 million.
In June, a group of civil engineers said the way the government approaches contracts needs a total overhaul.
Petition passes 4,100
A petition to dual the road as promised has achieved more than 4,100 signatures at the Scottish Parliament.
The demands include suggestions for a national memorial to people who died on the route.
Former first minister Alex Salmond had promised in 2011 to do the A9 job by 2025.
Meanwhile, the long-standing promise to dual the A96 in full between Inverness and Aberdeen has still not been met.
The SNP Government are reviewing the plan which supporters fear will be ditched to save cash.
Some parts of the road are still expected to be upgraded.
The Green party, in government with the SNP, are opposed to the original policy of full dualling.
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