First Minister John Swinney faced angry calls at Holyrood to speed up the dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness after another life was lost on the road earlier this week.
Inverness and Nairn MSP Fergus Ewing challenged Mr Swinney on behalf of his Highland constituents who he said were “10 times more likely” to lose a loved one to a road death than if they lived in the central belt.
A 49-year-old man was killed in a four-vehicle crash on the A9 near Ballinluig on Tuesday, with a further three people taken to hospital.
Mr Ewing drew attention to the incident at First Minister’s Questions at Holyrood on Tuesday, as he called on Mr Swinney to act.
The SNP government is under pressure to deliver key roads projects including dualling the A9 and A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness.
The A9 will be not be upgraded between Perth and Inverness until 2035 under the new timetable – a decade later than expected.
A 2030 target date was given for the A96 but work has yet to begin on the project.
Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop is scheduled to give an update on the scheme next week, with fears growing it won’t be delivered in full.
Highland families ’10 times’ more likely to lose loved one to road death
Mr Ewing quoted road safety data which shows people are three times more likely to lose their lives on an incident on a single carriageway road compared to dualled.
The SNP veteran went on to say the evidence, produced by the Road Safety Foundation, reveals motorists are 10 times more likely to lose their lives on a single track road opposed to a motorway.
Mr Ewing, appearing fired up, said: “That means people in the Highlands – in the north of Scotland – and families of the Highlands are 10 times more likely to lose somebody to a road death than in the central belt.
“Therefore can I ask the first minister, will he bring forward proposals for the swifter dualling of the A9 so that fewer people die and will he attend to the promise made to the cross party delegation of MSPs that I led and met with him in June when he said he would give serious consideration to that matter. A full five months ago.”
Mr Swinney said he recognises the “seriousness and significance of the issue”, and extended his sympathies to the family of the man who lost his life.
The accident took place in his constituency and the section of the route where it took place is not due to be completed until 2028.
The first minister told MSPs the government will keep the programme “under review” to identify whether there is any way the A9 be dualled quicker.
Officials are in the process of considering the implications of this and Ms Hyslop has asked that a report into the findings be published once complete, he added.
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