A9: Delayed 2035 completion date for dualling road 'very realistic', says key Scottish minister

Scotland's transport minister has said the delayed date for dualling the A9 is "very realistic".

Fiona Hyslop said the Scottish Government "has as much confidence as we can" that the entire road between Perth and Inverness will be dual carriageway by 2035, at a cost of £3.7 billion.

The Scottish Government announced the new timetable for fully dualling the road on Wednesday after admitting its initial target of 2025 is not achievable.

Ministers have previously confirmed the 2025 deadline for dualling the A9 will not be met. Picture: PA

Ms Hyslop told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "I think we can be confident because we have a delivery plan that sets out route by route when we'll be moving into that procurement and contracting, and we'll be moving next year into yet another of the sections and that will be the Tay-Ballinluig part of the route.

"So we can have as much confidence as we can. These are challenging times, we had a 10% cut in our infrastructure budget, but the A9 is being given this priority by this Government to ensure that this delivery plan can give as much confidence as we can on that delivery.

"It matters because the A9 is the backbone of the Scottish economy going up to the Highlands. I think in terms of that activity, that will be welcomed."

Questioned on how realistic the new date is, as just 11 miles of the A9 have been dualled in the past 16 years, she said: "Well it's very realistic because there's obviously a lot of preparatory work."

She said 92% of statutory provisions have been made for the route and the "remainder will be delivered".

With a rolling programme of works due to begin next summer, the Government hopes 50% of the dualling will be completed by 2030.

Work on the 83-mile A9 route has been split into 11 sections, two of which have already been completed.

In February, the Government admitted the 2025 target was "simply unachievable" after a series of delays, prompting anger from MSPs - including some within the SNP.

At Holyrood on Wednesday, opposition MSPs said people in the north of Scotland will have no faith that the dual-carriageway work will be completed, and warned the delays will lead to more fatalities on the road.