Commenting on the SNP government's latest A9 dualling claims, Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston, who has been campaigning since 2006 for the road to be dualled and is currently holding MSP Advice Surgeries in communities along the route, said:
"Sadly, we have become all too used to SNP smokescreens on A9 dualling, and it’s hard not to be cynical that the Cabinet Secretary claims of a new “urgency” on the project isn’t just the latest attempt by the Scottish Government in Edinburgh to deceive local communities.
“The SNP have a record of lack of transparency and accountability on the dualling, refusing to accept the original deadline would be missed and failing to provide clear answers on when a new timetable and costs would be put in place.
“They now say we’ll hear in Autumn, but SNP ministers have a history of missed targets and slipped deadlines so I’ll believe it when I see it.
"It is also worrying to see Green MSPs, who are propping up the SNP, so vocal with their plans for a downgrading of the dualling to just “improvements”.
“The anti-motorist Scottish Greens have always opposed the dualling of the A9, and their influence over the SNP is only growing. That should worry anyone who relies on their car, particularly those in rural communities like ours in the Highlands and Islands.
“The SNP promised to dual the A9 by 2025. They have finally – and belatedly – accepted their failure to do that. But they must now ignore their Green coalition partners, get a clear timetable and revised costs published as a priority, and get this road dualled as soon possible. Lives depend on it”.
