Perthshire community action groups call for "safe and effective" junctions following A9 dualling announcement

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Mark Ruskell, Scottish Green MSP for Perthshire, has encouraged the Scottish Government to prioritise urgent safety improvement measures at key junctions along the A9.

Mr Ruskell’s intervention comes as the Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth provided an update to the Scottish Parliament on the A9 road improvement project, announcing that the initial target for dualling of the road will be delayed later than 2025.The plan suffered setbacks after the only bid for the contract to carry out the Tomatin to Moy section fell through.

And ongoing work has been hit by delays, with Brexit and the war in Ukraine cited as hampering progress. In recognition of the road safety concerns following fatal accidents that occurred on the route in the second half of 2022, Ms Gilruth said: “I announced an investment of approximately £5 million in additional road safety measures for the A9 back in December. “I am pleased to confirm that these have now commenced and are progressing well, as confirmed by BEAR Scotland at the A9 Safety Group last week in Inverness.” Mr Ruskell has been in ongoing correspondence with the Minister and Transport Scotland around road safety measures short of dualling that can be rolled out quickly and effectively to improve passenger safety, including lowering the speed limit on single carriageway sections like those between Birnam and Dunkeld.Responding to his question in Parliament, the Minister confirmed that any amendments to speed limits will be considered as part of the National Speed Management Review.Speaking after the statement, Mr Ruskell said: “When I speak to local communities along the A9, the message is clear.“They want us to improve dangerous junctions and reduce speeds.