Anger as SNP spend £520m on dualling 11 miles of killer A9
And work on the next six-mile stretch of the A9 is expected to cost at least £300million – pushing the combined bill to more than £800million by spring 2027.
The SNP vowed in 2011 to upgrade 88 miles of single carriageway between Perth and Inverness by this year.
But ministers failed to fund the commitment and finally admitted two years ago that the timetable had become 'unachievable' – pushing back the completion date to 2035.
Only two of the 11 sections have been fully dualled so far – the five miles from Kincraig to Dalraddy, near Aviemore, and six miles from Luncarty to Pass of Birnam, north of Perth.
The next section set to be completed, the six miles from Tomatin to Moy, outside Inverness, was recently delayed from 2027 to 2028.
Construction has yet to start on the other eight stretches, with the final cost forecast to be around £3.7billion. Figures released to the Tories under freedom of information show the SNP spent £520million on dualling the road between 2012 and June this year.
This includes design, land acquisition, demolition and preparatory works, procurement of contractors and the cost of the construction works themselves. Another £300million of spending is planned by April 2027, taking the total to £820million for the completion of 17 miles.
Scottish Tory transport spokesman Sue Webber called for emergency legislation to cut bureaucracy and 'get the job done'.
'The SNP's ongoing failure to dual the A9 is Scotland's national shame,' she said.
'They've managed to squander £800million of taxpayers' money and still not even a third of the A9 is dualled.
'As costs soar and progress stalls, more and more lives are being lost on the A9. Unlike the SNP, we would make dualling the A9 a top priority.'
Despite being the key transport artery to the Highlands, the A9 has long been a notorious accident blackspot, with many fatalities where the route switches between single and dual carriageway.
There have been 320 'injury collisions' on the road in the last four years, including 135 classed as serious and 28 fatalities.
The deadliest recent year was 2022-23, when 13 people were killed, followed by 2024-25, when there were seven fatalities.
Among the recent casualties was mother-of-two Ashleigh Watson, 31, who was pronounced dead at the scene after a single-vehicle crash just before Christmas last year near Inshes, Inverness.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'The A9 is an essential route in Scotland. It must be safe, reliable and resilient, and that is what this Government will deliver.'
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