Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Doubt cast over timetable for decision on A96 dualling

The SNP committed to dualling the A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness by 2030. Image: Paul Glendell/DC Thomson
The SNP committed to dualling the A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness by 2030. Image: Paul Glendell/DC Thomson

The SNP-Green government is being accused of a “veil of secrecy” after roads bosses refused to confirm if a decision will be reached on fully dualling the A96 by the end of the year.

Government agency Transport Scotland says a public consultation on the future of the Aberdeen to Inverness road attracted an “unprecedented level of engagement”.

This means it has taken “more time than originally anticipated” to consider and appraise all the options.

A report on the public consultation and an “initial appraisal” will be published by the end of the year.

But transport bosses refused to give any detail on whether this document will include recommendations on whether to dual the route, as previously promised by the government.

The A96 is not the only road causing frustration among those pushing for improvements.

Transport Scotland is also blaming “market changes” for ongoing delays in publishing a blueprint for the A9 dualling project between Inverness and Perth.

A procurement strategy was due to be published in summer 2021 but almost a year and a half later it is still not complete.

Just two out of 11 sections have been dualled to date.

‘Veil of secrecy’

North-east Tory MSP Liam Kerr said the public “deserve some honesty and clarity”.

He claimed the SNP is putting up a “veil of secrecy” over what exactly the “initial appraisal” on the A96 will contain.

“The Scottish Government’s reluctance to come clean on the full dualling will only cause further upset to devastated families whose loved ones have tragically died or been injured on this road”, Mr Kerr added.

The SNP promised over a decade ago it would dual the A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness by 2030.

However, this was thrown into doubt when the Scottish Greens were brought into government last year.

It was announced as part of the government’s new agreement that the project would be subject to an environmental impact assessment.

Liam Kerr MSP.

Highlands and Islands Green party MSP Ariane Burgess said “boosting” A96 capacity will only lead to more cars and pollution.

“We have limited resources which we would far rather see invested in public transport and safety equipment, such as average speed cameras, rather than it being poured into a multi-billion pound road project,” she said.

A Transport Scotland spokesman said the review will be “transparent” and “evidence-based”.

In a statement, the agency added: “The recent public consultation received an unprecedented level of engagement with nearly 4,600 responses, generating more than 11,000 suggestions and potential opportunities for the route.

“Rightly, it has taken more time than originally anticipated to consider and to appraise all of those options, however, the report on the public consultation and the initial appraisal will be published by the end of the year.”

Why is the A9 project delayed?

The Scottish Government is supposed to be dualling the A9 by 2025.

In the past year alone 12 people have died on the road between Perth and Inverness, the highest death toll on the road for more than a decade.

Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth recently promised the government remains committed to delivering on the pledge. 

But a planned procurement strategy for the remaining sections of the £3 billion road upgrade is yet to be completed. 

The A9 Inverness to Perth road. Image: DC Thomson/Sandy McCook

The fresh strategy is expected to outline a new timetable and financing proposals for completing the long-awaited revamp of one of Scotland’s most dangerous roads.

The Scottish Government last week gave the go-ahead for dualling the 22km stretch between Killicrankie and Glen Garry in Perthshire.

Transport Scotland said it’s a “complex exercise”, adding: “As part of this exercise, in light of recent fluctuations in the economic environment, work is also underway to assess the impact of market changes on factors such as borrowing costs and price inflation to inform evaluation of the potential procurement approaches available.”

Conversation