A9 dualling

A9 dualling: From national scandal to national tragedy

How many more people have to die on the A9 before the SNP finally lives up to its pledge to dual Scotland’s most notorious road?

How many more families have to go through the anguish of picking up the pieces of shattered lives before the Holyrood government keeps a promise it made in its manifesto a full 16 years ago?

The raw statistics for the death toll on the Perth-Inverness stretch of the A9 stands at a heartbreaking 335 since 1979.

This statistic alone shows that this vital artery to the Highlands has been unfit for purpose not just for years, but for decades.

They are not mere numbers. Behind them are stories of loss, grief – and deep frustration that such an important route is being treated, campaigners believe, like a “country backroad”.

Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop, First Minister Humza Yousaf and the rest of the SNP administration in Edinburgh must at last live up to the commitments made by their party and dual the A9.

We pledge to continue to hold all of them to account until they deliver.

The state of the road has for years been a national scandal – it is now a national tragedy.