Transport Scotland spent £300 million maintaining A9 since the SNP came to power as average annual costs continue to rise
The cost of maintaining crumbling parts of the A9 has soared to more than £302 million since the SNP came to power – and costs have been prevailing upwards for most of the last decade.
New figures reveal that the average spend for the five years from 2006/07 to 2010/11 was just over £14 million a year while the average spend for the last five years rose to more than £22 million.
In the last two years alone almost £50 million was spent maintaining the road which has been at the centre of a political storm after the SNP promised then failed to dualling the road from Inverness to Perth by 2025.
The figures came through a Freedom of Information request by Scottish Conservative shadow rural secretary and Highlands and Islands MSP Tim Eagle who said the huge costs illustrate the A9’s “dire state of disrepair”.
The latest round of maintenance work to resurface the road which started with a stretch from Kincraig and Carrbridge and then another from Slochd and Findhorn Bridge.
Added to that is the recent news that the cost of dualling the six miles of Tomatin to Moy section – the next part of the A9 for an upgrade – has risen to £308 million, according to a Scottish Government report.
Mr Eagle said: “These eye-watering figures lay bare the A9’s dire state of disrepair and illustrate that this road is completely unfit for purpose. At the heart of this are families who have lost loved ones due to the A9’s unacceptable condition.
“This is the tragic reality of the dangers the road poses after almost two decades of neglect from the SNP government, which has delivered a mere 11 miles of dual carriageway in 17 years.
“Their failure to provide the necessary investment in our roads betrays local communities, undermines Scotland’s future connectivity and endangers lives.
“Rather than spending endless sums patching up the A9, the SNP must prioritise dualling the road as a matter of urgency.”
