The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Excuse for road delay ‘insulting’
SNP MSP Clare Adamson has blamed Covid and contractors on “massive” delays in delivering on promises to fully dual the A9 and A96.
On BBC’S Debate Night in Elgin, Ms Adamson was laughed at by the audience following her remarks which drew astonishment from host Stephen Jardine and the audience.
The Motherwell MSP said Covid has “changed the landscape” of who is prepared to do the work on the A9 between Inverness and Perth.
And she admitted the A96 project had been “challenging” for the government.
Several audience members from the area shared their anger and frustration at the failure to dual the route between Aberdeen and Inverness.
One woman said her husband was “lucky to be alive” following a serious crash on the A96 in 2019, with it taking six hours to cut him out of his vehicle.
Another woman from the area said the route was a danger with lorries almost “wiping her out”.
Contractors behind part of the A96 project, Mott Macdonald Sweco, last year blamed the impact of the Snp-green coalition on their decision to close its Forres office.
The SNP committed to dualling the road more than a decade ago.
But full dualling is now subject to an environmental review, following the power-sharing deal struck between the SNP and the Greens in 2021.
Government roads agency Transport Scotland is currently looking at 16 options for the route, with a further public consultation to be carried out on these plans.
Only after this concludes will a final decision be made on whether to fully dual it.
On a separate project to dual the A9 between Inverness and Perth, Ms Adamson said it had been “very difficult” to get contractors to bid for the work.
She added: “Part of this is due to Covid and part of this is a change in the landscape of who is actually prepared to bid and do some of this work.”
Highland Tory MSP Edward Mountain, who was also on the panel, described Ms Adamson’s comments as “insulting and completely out of touch”.
He added: “It is no surprise she was laughed at for her obscene excuses behind her party’s failure to fulfil their promise, which was first made in 2011.”