Why A9 dualling project may be archaeology before it's actually finished

Seventeen years after the plan to dual the A9 was announced, there’s yet more news of progress, with the announcement that a team of archaeologists has been appointed to survey the road between the Tay and Ballinluig.

It is an important task. Who knows what wonders they will find? Might they discover the Roman marching camp where the mysterious Ninth Legion – as featured in Rosemary Sutcliff’s famous book, The Eagle of the Ninth – was almost overrun by the local Caledonian forces? What a discovery that would be!

The vast majority of the A9 between Perth and Inverness is single carriageway (Picture: John Devlin) | National World

Officially, the road between Inverness and Perth is expected to be fully dualled by 2035. However, given just 11 miles of the road have been upgraded so far and there are another 77 left to go, it might not actually be completed until sometime in the 22nd century.

So, even before it is finished, future archaeologists – doubtless used to hovering about in eco-friendly, self-driving jetpacks – may find themselves marvelling at a discovery of the ‘primitive tools’ used by early 21st-century roadbuilders at the beginning of this truly epically delayed project.