A9 work will not be completed by 2025 target, minister says

The Scottish government has said work to dual the A9 between Inverness and Perth will not be completed by 2025.

Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth said the target was "unachievable".

She said the government remained committed to upgrading the remaining single carriageway sections of the road to dual carriageway.

But she said the project had been hit by delays, highlighting the impact of the Covid pandemic, Brexit and the war in Ukraine.

The Scottish government had committed to the project in 2011, when it was predicted to cost £3bn.

Over the last 10 years, work has been completed on two sections, totalling 11 miles of road - but about 77 miles of road remains to be dualled.

Ms Gilruth said the Scottish government's commitment to finishing the job remained "absolute" and that a new timetable for the project would be brought before the Scottish Parliament in the autumn.

Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser said communities had been waiting more than a decade for the government to fulfil its commitment.

And he warned that people would continue to die on the A9 until the road was made safer.

Scottish Labour MSP Rhoda Grant said missing the 2025 target was a "total betrayal to the Highlands".

SNP MSP Fergus Ewing said Ms Gilruth's statement would be met with "shock, incredulity and anger".

The number of people killed in crashes between Perth and Inverness has risen to its highest level in 20 years, with 13 people losing their lives in 2022.

Ms Gilruth said £5m was being invested in extra road safety measures, including enhanced signage and road markings, and electronic signs with safety messages.

She said the 2025 target for the project had always been an ambitious challenge which had relied on a range of factors.

Ms Gilruth said these had been "significantly impacted" by events, making the date "simply unachievable".

She highlighted that only one contractor had tendered for the work to upgrade the Tomatin to Moy section of the road in the Highlands.

This contract will now have to be retendered after it was decided that this bid did not represent good value to taxpayers.

Ms Gilruth added: "Transport Scotland is urgently considering a range of different options to provide ministers advice on the most efficient way in which to dual the remaining sections."

The A9 is Scotland's longest road, running for 230 miles from Scrabster, near Thurso, to Dunblane, near Stirling.

Concerns over safety on the route date back decades.