Why is there a row over Scotland's longest road?

The Scottish authorities has said a people to dual remaining sections of single-carriageway betwixt Inverness and Perth by 2025 volition beryllium missed.

Since the task was launched successful 2011 a full of astir 11 miles (18km) person been upgraded, leaving 80 miles (129km) inactive to beryllium done.

The wheels coming disconnected the completion day is the latest twist successful the communicative of Scotland's longest road.

It is often described arsenic the spine of the Scottish roadworthy web moving astir 230 miles (370 km) from Scrabster, adjacent Thurso connected the northbound Highland coast, to adjacent Dunblane.

According to Transport Scotland, much than 65,000 radical question on the Inverness to Perth conception each time alone, and the worth of the goods carried connected conscionable this agelong is estimated to beryllium £19bn annually.

The A9 passes done immoderate melodramatic upland landscapes, with sections of it pursuing the lines of aged subject roads dating backmost to the 18th Century.

Where the A9 traverses upland passes it reaches its highest points - 462m (1,516ft) supra oversea level astatine the Drumochter Summit, 25 miles (40km) northbound of Pitlochry, and 401m (1,315ft) astatine the Slochd Summit, 20 miles (32km) southbound of Inverness.

North of Inverness, the roadworthy winds its mode done the Black Isle, Easter Ross and on the Caithness and Sutherland coasts.

The archetypal large revamps of the A9 day to the 1970s and 1980s, and included the operation of large roadworthy bridges and bypasses of much than a twelve towns and villages.

But astir of the roadworthy has remained azygous carriageway, and the travel clip to question the full magnitude of the A9 - without immoderate breaks oregon delays - is astir 5 hours.

Few radical who marque regular trips connected the A9 would admit to looking guardant to making their journeys connected it, and galore volition beryllium acquainted with the words "take attraction connected that road" from friends and family.

Journeys of the A9 are often long, raising the hazard of fatigue, and it is busy.

The statistic amusement postulation levels tin beryllium 50% higher successful summertime than wintertime owed to precocious volumes of tourer and leisure-related traffic.

Also, depending connected the clip of twelvemonth and location, goods vehicles including ample articulated lorries tin relationship for up to 40% of full regular traffic.

In winter, determination are the evident challenges of snowfall and crystal making driving conditions difficult.

Safety campaigners person blamed the premix of azygous and dual carriageway for causing disorder and starring to accidents.

Then determination are concerns astir operator behaviour.

According to the A9 Safety Group, an organisation involving the Scottish government, constabulary and Road Safety Scotland, much than 40% of fatal accidents connected azygous carriageway sections of the A9 betwixt 2008 and 2012 progressive overtaking manoeuvres.

The radical besides said excessive speeding had been a occupation connected the A9.

Last year, the fig of radical killed successful crashes betwixt Inverness and Perth roseate to its highest level successful 20 years.

Thirteen radical died successful 8 fatal accidents.

The casualties included a two-year-old lad and his grandparents astatine the Slochd, southbound of Inverness, successful July.

In August, 3 members of a household visiting Scotland from the US were killed astatine Ralia, besides successful the Highlands.

There were fatal accidents astatine Dunkeld and adjacent Bankfoot successful Perthshire.

Along the afloat magnitude of the roadworthy determination were a full of 17 fatalities, including the decease of a antheral and a pistillate successful Caithness.

This was the highest fig for the full roadworthy since 2009, according to Police Scotland data.

The tragic toll sparked renewed calls from campaigners and politicians for the Scottish authorities to reaffirm its committedness to implicit dualling betwixt Inverness and Perth by 2025.

In October 2014, a web of mean velocity cameras was introduced successful an effort to trim casualty numbers portion enactment continued connected the dualling programme.

The fig of fatalities dropped, earlier rising again past year.

In December, the Scottish authorities announced it was committed to spending astir £5m successful other roadworthy information measures for the A9 successful the years up to 2025.

At the clip it said it was already delivering £95,000-worth of information schemes implicit the adjacent 4 months betwixt Inverness and Perth, including enhanced signs and roadworthy markings astatine cardinal locations.

It said an further £600,000 of enactment and campaigns would besides beryllium delivered by this April, focused connected the aforesaid agelong of road.

This would see enhanced roadworthy markings, illuminated roadworthy studs and improvements to item azygous carriageways and wherever they go dualled sections.

Signs with information messages would besides beryllium deployed on the route.

The A9 Safety Group has besides tally campaigns connected overtaking.

A operator fatigue run is to beryllium launched connected 13 February and, for overseas drivers, a thrust connected the near inaugural is to beryllium held implicit Easter.

There person been calls for this agelong to beryllium dualled for years owed to its strategical value connecting the Highland superior with cardinal Scotland, and besides due to the fact that of the fig of accidents.

In 2008, the Scottish authorities said improving the roadworthy was a priority.

On 6 December 2011, the past infrastructure and superior concern caput Alex Neil launched a caller concern program which included a committedness to dual the A9 betwixt Inverness and Perth by 2025.

The Scottish authorities said the A9 Dualling Programme was designed to present economical maturation "through betterment to travel times, reliability, roadworthy information and operator stress".

Construction connected the archetypal section, the £35m 4.6-mile (7km) Kincraig to Dalraddy stretch, started successful 2015 and completed and opened successful 2017.

The 2nd - and lone different conception to beryllium finished to day - was the Luncarty to Pass of Birnam project, which outgo £96m and progressive six miles (9km) of dual carriageway. Construction started successful 2019 and it opened to postulation successful 2021.

Nine sections stay to beryllium built.

There are nary plans to dual the A9 northbound of Inverness.

The A9 is azygous carriageway for 104 miles (167km) from the Tore Roundabout connected the Black Isle to Scrabster.

The Scottish authorities has agelong acknowledged transforming the Inverness to Perth agelong would beryllium challenging, describing it arsenic 1 of the biggest infrastructure projects successful Scottish history.

Even earlier the excavators tin determination in, determination is simply a immense magnitude of planning, nationalist consultation, successful immoderate cases negotiations connected the acquisition of onshore and statutory process to beryllium worked through.

Some of the terrain poses civilian engineering challenges. The conception astatine the Slochd involves an country of rocky hills and heavy gullies.

But connected Wednesday, Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth told MSPs that gathering the 2025 people was present not "unachievable".

She said the task had been deed by delays, highlighting inflationary pressures connected the operation manufacture caused by the interaction of the Covid pandemic, Brexit and the warfare successful Ukraine.

Costs of the wide task person gone up since the £3bn estimation calculated successful 2008. A caller outgo has inactive to beryllium confirmed.

A large sticking constituent for advancement is the six-mile (9km) conception betwixt Tomatin and Moy.

Ms Gilruth said the authorities had been disappointed to person conscionable 1 bid for this stretch, and astatine a terms importantly higher than expected. The declaration is to beryllium enactment backmost retired to tender.

The transport curate said the Scottish government's committedness to finishing dualling the A9 was "absolute".

There has been choler and vexation from the public, concern leaders and politicians.

SNP and absorption MSPs expressed disapproval and concerns pursuing Ms Gilruth's statement.

Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser said communities had been waiting much than a decennary for the authorities to fulfil its commitment.

And helium warned that radical would proceed to dice connected the A9 until the roadworthy was made safer.

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

SNP MSP Fergus Ewing said the quality would beryllium met with "shock, incredulity and anger".

Later, connected Wednesday, Mr Ewing told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime programme helium had campaigned for 33 years for improvements to the road.

He said: "We were making advancement but this week we went backward with the cancellation of the conception from Tomatin to Moy, and nary timetable to regenerate the archetypal deadline of 2025. This is conscionable not bully enough.

"I americium beauteous aggravated astir each of this, mirroring the choler felt by hundreds of thousands of radical successful Scotland."

He added: "I was appalled yesterday determination was nary apology."

The MSP has called for a nationalist enquiry into the delay.

Highland-based information campaigner Laura Hansler, who lives adjacent the A9, said had been near aggravated and upset.

She said: "I person been adjacent to tears. I consciousness physically sick due to the fact that my thoughts are intimately with those who person mislaid loved ones connected the A9."

Jo De Silva, chairwoman of Visit Inverness Loch Ness, said determination could beryllium an economical impact.

She said: "We trust truthful heavy up present connected tourists and it is specified an important road.

"There tin beryllium fewer cities crossed the UK that don't person a decent road."

Drew Hendry, SNP MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, has called for knowing of the reasons for the delay.

He tweeted: "I don't judge anyone thought that the A9 dualling could person been completed by 2025 against the inheritance of a Brexit, imposed upon us, and the pandemic.

"It is, however, important that this task continues arsenic an implicit commitment."

At archetypal minister's questions astatine Holyrood connected Wednesday, Nicola Sturgeon said the Scottish authorities was firmly committed to completing the dualling project.

The FM pointed retired that it was a £3bn concern and roadworthy users were already benefiting from immoderate stretches that are already dualled.

The Scottish authorities has asked its bureau Transport Scotland to urgently see a scope of ways to efficiently dual the remaining sections.

Ms Gilruth said she expected to person that proposal this autumn and she would past update parliament connected a renewed timescale for completion.