The A9 Dualling Delay: Scotland's Road to Nowhere?
The A9 is the kind of project that could fill pages with political back-and-forth, especially for anyone who’s watched the Scottish government debate it over the years. It's not just a road; it’s a long-standing promise, a public commitment, and, for many in Scotland, a lifeline. The push to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness has become one of the most contentious yet immovable political priorities a "sacred cow" of Scottish politics. It seems everyone in Holyrood supports the idea in principle, yet somehow, the plans to see it through always seem just out of reach.
In 2025, the A9 dualling project was supposed to be done and dusted. Instead, 2025 is upon us with only 11 miles of dual carriageway added over a decade, and a revised target now set for 2035. Originally estimated at £3 billion, the project is now plagued by spiralling costs, ballooning estimates, and, of course, delays. To say the A9 has hit a roadblock would be putting it mildly. To many MSPs and citizens, it's beginning to feel like a mirage promised but never quite within reach.
Take a recent report from Holyrood’s Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee. The report expressed deep concern that the funding needed to finish the dualling project simply isn’t in place. Jackson Carlaw, a Conservative MSP and convener of the committee, stressed that this wasn’t some calculated scheme to stall the A9. However, he didn’t mince words when it came to the lack of transparency and foresight from the Scottish government and its transport agency, Transport Scotland. Carlaw remarked that there had been “a complete lack of transparency and clarity about the funding of this road.” This kind of critique isn’t new, but it does speak to the frustration of seeing a key national project slipping further and further from completion.
The numbers involved are staggering. A six-mile stretch of the A9 at Moy-Tomatin, which was once pegged to cost £197 million, has shot up to an eye-watering £308 million. That’s an increase of £111 million more than half the original cost. If it takes around £300 million to dual a six-mile section, one can only imagine the bill for the remaining 77 miles. So while 2035 is the current target, many Scots are understandably sceptical that this will be the final word on when (or if) the A9 will be fully dualled.
But what’s at stake here goes beyond mere infrastructure. At its core, the A9 dualling represents safety and accessibility for rural Scotland. The stretch between Perth and Inverness has seen its fair share of tragedies. In 2022 alone, 13 people lost their lives on this road, the highest annual toll in 20 years. This road, with its mix of single and dual carriageways, is challenging to navigate. Locals and travellers are vulnerable to the dangers of overtaking on single lanes, and each delay to the project means more lives are put at risk.
Campaigner Laura Hansler, of the A9 Dual Action Group, has been a relentless voice for those affected. After losing a loved one on the road, Hansler became an advocate for the project, pushing for both completion of the dual carriageway and a memorial to those who have lost their lives. She voiced her frustration, saying that the government’s “dragging of feet” over funding demonstrates a “complete disinterest in the people of the Highlands and Islands.” Her sentiment is echoed by many who feel the region has long been neglected when it comes to infrastructure.
The committee investigating the A9 project gathered evidence from prominent political figures, including former first ministers Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. Salmond described finishing the road as a matter of “integrity and honour.” He recalled the commitment his SNP-led cabinet made in 2011, genuinely believing the A9 could be dualled by 2025. But Sturgeon, appearing before the committee in May, pointed out that while the SNP was committed to the project, the timeline had been derailed by unforeseen challenges, including the fallout from Brexit and the Covid pandemic. Sturgeon’s comments highlighted how easily political intentions can be derailed by external forces. But for those waiting on a safer A9, it’s cold comfort.
While Transport Scotland has assured the public that it will “take the appropriate time to consider and respond” to the committee’s report, many are left wondering if this will bring any tangible change. The costliest and most delayed infrastructure projects, in general, often become political bargaining chips, a cycle the A9 seems to be trapped in. The A9 is beginning to feel like a litmus test for the Scottish government’s commitment to rural Scotland. As Sue Webber, a Scottish Conservative MSP, put it, “The A9 is the backbone of Scotland.” For those living in the Highlands, each year the project is delayed means they’re more isolated, more vulnerable, and more disillusioned with the politics behind it.
What’s clear is that the dualling of the A9 is a goal that most, if not all, Scottish politicians support in principle. But intention alone does not build roads, and certainly not one as ambitious as the A9. The allure of a fully dualled A9 is a promise that politicians feel compelled to make but rarely seem ready to fulfil. The project is a political fixture, discussed, promised, postponed, and occasionally progressed.
For now, those who drive the A9 can only wait and hope. Hope that by 2035, they might actually see a fully dualled road, one that honours the lives lost and recognises the commitment rural Scotland deserves. Until then, the A9 remains a symbol of political aspiration, marred by repeated disappointment.
