Murdo Fraser MSP says “time is of the essence” for the SNP Government to complete the dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness.
The Scottish Conservative politician was speaking following a recent meeting of the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee at which A9 dualling campaigner Laura Hansler addressed members.
Mr Fraser said constituents in Perthshire and people in the Highlands have heard enough excuses from the SNP Government about why the A9 dualling project has been delayed and feels matters have been hampered by their coalition with the Scottish Greens.
Commenting, he said: “If any SNP-Green ministers bothered to tune into the committee, they will have heard an extremely powerful testimony from Laura Hansler, who is tirelessly campaigning to dual the A9.
“The case for doing so is overwhelming yet we have seen painfully little action from successive SNP Transport Ministers. They’ve even had the brass neck to blame Putin’s invasion of Ukraine for them having to concede that this key route will not be fully dualled by 2025.
“They first committed to doing so in 2011, so they have no excuse for missing this target. Every delay puts more lives at risk, with more than a dozen lost on the A9 in the last year alone. My thoughts are with those families grieving the loss of a loved one.
“SNP-Green ministers owe it to them and communities living along the route to urgently up their game and ensure that the procurement process is carried out as soon as possible.”
Mr Fraser continued: “Even Transport Scotland bosses have admitted their current process isn’t fit for purpose and that ministers are cutting it fine if they want to agree a new procurement contract by the end of the year.
“The new SNP Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop needs to put the interests of campaigners like Laura Hansler above those of their anti-motorist Green coalition partners, who are holding up the entire process. The clock is ticking here – time is of the essence.”
