A9 safety campaigner to appear before Holyrood committee
Laura Hansler, from the A9 Dual Action Group, is appearing before the Public Petitions Committee today
A road safety campaigner will tell MSPs today that the A9 dualling between Inverness and Perth must be completed as a matter of urgency.
Laura Hansler, from the A9 Dual Action Group, is appearing before the Public Petitions Committee to highlight concerns regarding the 112-mile stretch of road.
The group's petition on the matter has received more than 3800 signatures in which they call on the Scottish Government to publish a revised timetable for dualling each section, complete the dualling work by 2025 and create a memorial to those who have lost their lives in road traffic incidents on the A9.
Scottish Government "must focus" on A9 - Laura Hansler
Earlier this year, the then Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth confirmed the pledge by the SNP in 2011 wouldn't be fulfilled.
Laura feels this isn't good enough and a recent tragedy on the road shows how Scottish Ministers must act now.
She said: "In the last couple of weeks we've had an utter tragedy where a young man, 18 years old, was killed at Dalmagarry Quarry.
"I feel if the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland had got on with the job at hand this was an avoidable tragedy.
"The majority of these accidents are happening on the single carriageway sections.
"I am every bit as upset as every other member of the public and all the communities here.
"They really do need to focus on this now, we are not some country back road.
"This wouldn't be accepted down in the central belt and it's about time they gave people up here in the Highlands and in Perthshire a voice."
Transport Scotland "worst client in the UK" - CECA
In response to the petition being discussed today, the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) Scotland said the industry considered the 2025 goal for dualling the road unachievable before the announcement from the Scottish Government and speculated the slow pace of work could be deliberate.
"The civil engineering sector in Scotland have known for many years that the promise to dual the A9 2025 would not be met," the document said.
"The pace at which design and development work and subsequent road orders for each of the 11 sections has been carried out can be best described as being glacial."
The body went on to say there was suspicions among the industry that the slow movement "has been deliberate as there has been insufficient budget allocated to allow these sections to be procured".
The document added that Transport Scotland is considered "the worst client to work for in the UK" due to the type of contract it uses.
£430m already spent on A9 dualling - Scottish Government
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We remain firmly committed to completing the dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness.
"The £3bn investment (at 2008 prices) to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness is one of the biggest transport infrastructure projects in Scotland’s history.
"We have already invested over £430m delivering the programme with road users already benefiting from the dualled sections between Kincraig and Dalraddy and Luncarty and the Pass of Birnam.
"Transport Scotland has a long record of successful procurement which balances the need to attract competition from the market place with protecting the public purse.
"Whilst the design and build works contract has been successfully implemented for over 20 years, they do acknowledge that recent years have seen a decline in the number of tenderers, in part due to the terms and conditions set out in the contract, including risk transfer.
"A market engagement exercise has been undertaken with industry partners, including The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA), to consider changes to better reflect current market conditions and risks to maximise interest and competition ahead of the new procurement for the A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy project.
"TS welcomes CECA’s contribution as an interested party as it considers the most appropriate approach to balancing the need to generate effective tender competition with the importance of protecting the public purse.
"This is a complex process, and we need to carefully guard against any unintended consequences."