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.

COURIER OPINION: Anger over A9 dualling delays is real

The A9 dualling project was a vote-winner for the SNP in 2007. But progress has been glacial and the death toll keeps mounting.

traffic queued in both directions on the A9 at Dunkeld.
Traffic chaos on the A9 after yet another incident on a single-carriageway stretch of road. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson.

Another death on the A9; another set of empty excuses for the continuing failure to upgrade the Perth to Inverness road to dual carriageway.

The fact that we have been here so many times before – in terms of fatalities and delays – does not make the situation any more tolerable.

It makes the latest victim – a teenager this time – all the more tragic.

And it makes every single person who has allowed the death toll to mount while the A9 dualling project is kicked into the long grass a player in a scandal.

Sixteen years have passed since the SNP made a manifesto promise that it would dual 80 miles of the route in 2007.

traffic on the A9 at Luncarty.
Roadworks at Luncarty on one of only two completed sections of the A9 dualling project. Image: Kim Cessford / DC Thomson

As the party of government, they eventually got around to announcing the commencement of the £3 billion scheme in 2019.

But four years on, just two of the 11 sections have been completed.

And in February, then transport minister Jenny Gilruth confirmed what everyone with a grip on reality already knew – that the 2025 completion date was “simply no longer achievable”.

Communities frustrated by A9 dualling delays

We are on to yet another transport minister now, the fourth in three years. Kevin Stewart said this week that he intends to provide an update on the A9 dualling programme to the Scottish Parliament “this autumn”.

Kevin Stewart and Jenny Gilruth in the Scottish Parliament.
Kevin Stewart and his predecessor as transport minister Jenny Gilruth. Image: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire.

That’s unlikely to bring much comfort to the family of the 18-year-old who died at the scene of last Friday’s crash at Dalmagarry, south of Inverness.

Dualling was supposed to start there last year. However the Scottish Government says the tendered offer was rejected, because it wasn’t considered value for money

Nor is it likely to provide much hope to the communities here in highland Perthshire, whose residents take their lives in their hands every time they venture on to the A9.

Thirteen people died on the A9 between Perth and Inverness last year. It was the highest number in a single year since 2001.

Meanwhile, the only two completed sections of the dualling project – Luncarty to Pass of Birnam in Perthshire and Kincraig to Dalraddy near Aviemore – amount to a pitiful 10-and-a-half miles of progress.

Can anger translate to action?

Former SNP minister Fergus Ewing spoke about “real anger” week when he demanded a detailed timetable for the scheme.

Fergus Ewing.
Fergus Ewing: Image: Jason Hedges.

He is right. And it is growing.

The anger is there in local communities, where residents are sick of being fobbed off and now tell us they fear the work will never happen.

It’s here with this newspaper, which has had more than enough of vanishing targets and meaningless platitudes.

And if it is not there in the minds of those who have the power to actually bring some urgency to this stalled project, perhaps it’s time they stepped aside to make room for those who will.

Conversation