Summit will challenge John Swinney to bring forward A9 dualling

Upgrades to the A9 have been continually pushed back. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson.

John Swinney will join a cross-party summit of MSPs this week for talks over how to bring the completion date for dualling the A9 forward by years, we can exclusively reveal.

Representatives of every Holyrood party except the Greens will meet with the first minister on Tuesday.

Completion of the project to dual the stretch between Perth and Inverness has been delayed by 10 years until 2035.

The road, which connects the Highlands with the central belt, has been branded “Scotland’s most dangerous road”.

MSPs believe the dualling project can be finished years ahead of schedule and will push Swinney to meet again with industry leaders.

The group includes the SNP’s Fergus Ewing, Conservative Edward Mountain, Labour’s Rhoda Grant, Lib Dem Willie Rennie and Ash Regan, Alba’s leader at Holyrood.

Sources close to the talks say Swinney has privately indicated he is sympathetic to their views after spending decades campaigning over safety improvements on the route.

Senior SNP figures believe it could be a vital move in winning back voters’ trust ahead of the 2026 Holyrood election.

‘It can be done sooner so why aren’t we doing it’?

Ewing has been one of the most vocal critics of his own party’s record on delivering the A9 project.

He told The Sunday Post: “We believe the completion of the dualling of the A9 should be done earlier, for many reasons – not least saving human lives.

“We saw another tragic death recently, which I raised at FMQs.

“John Swinney has been campaigning, as I have, on the A9 for three decades or more so he knows the arguments inside out.

“I’ve had a lot of discussions and what I’ve discovered is that the civil engineering sector can do it if the terms of the contract are right.

“One of the big problems is that in Scotland all of the risks were passed to the contractor and, with profit margins of 3%, they weren’t interested.

“That’s why we ended up with one bidder.”

SNP MSP Fergus Ewing. Image: Jason Hedges/DC Thomson.

Ewing continued: “There is no doubt the civil engineering can do it more quickly.

“The problem would be more disruption and maybe finding some of the workforce but they say they can do it.

“If we need to raise private capital, that finance is available. I’ve made enquiries with various contacts to confirm that.

“My pitch on Tuesday will not be political, it’s going to be financial and practical. It can be done sooner so why aren’t we doing that?”

Why has it taken so long?

The SNP first pledged to dual the long stretch of road shortly after taking power in 2007.

It has repeatedly been delayed, despite campaigners warning lives are being lost while deadlines are extended.

In 2022, the number of people killed in crashes rose to its highest level in 20 years, at 17.

We revealed last year that transport bosses had paid design consultants and planners almost double what has been spent on actual construction to dual the route.

The A9 at Slochd, north of Carrbridge, following a serious accident in the early hours involving two heavy goods vehicles. Image: DC Thomson

A staggering £246.7 million – more than half of the total money spent on the project so far – had been handed over to cover “preparation costs” including designers.

It dwarfs the £133m spent so far on construction.

Contractors claim the government intentionally set a “glacial” pace because of a lack of funding.

They say the civil engineering sector has known for many years that a promise to dual the A9 by 2025 would not be met.

They also blamed a “dated” bespoke contract which places all financial risk on the contractor for issues such as weather and ground conditions.

MSP blames central belt bias

Tory MSP Edward Mountain said delays have been caused by politicians ignoring Highland communities.

He said: “Every day of delay on dualling the A9 has cost the Highlands lost business, and, sadder than that, lost lives.

“It is absolutely imperative this SNP government dual the A9 sooner rather than later.

“It is my opinion that the Highlands have suffered from a central belt bias when it comes to financial expenditure, and this needs to be reversed”.

The Scottish Government currently anticipates half of the A9 will be operating as a dual carriageway by the end of 2030, with the project fully completed by 2035.