Dave Thompson MSP

Prior to the SNP coming to power in 2007 as a minority Government, our manifesto commitment was to axe the Edinburgh Trams Project, which would have released over £500m in savings for use on other Scottish infrastructure, including a big chunk for work on the A9.

However the three principal opposition parties (Tory, Labour, Lib Dem) forced a vote to keep the trams, and so that is where this money went. What was worse was, as feared, the tram project was mismanaged. The project went way over budget and the Scottish Government had to make the difficult decision to bail it out at the cost of several hundreds of millions more. The total loss to other infrastructure projects got perilously close to £1Billion, but fortunately the Scottish Government took over management of it through Transport Scotland and things went smoothly after that.

Thankfully, the trams, now operational, are enjoying a steady stream of usage by locals and tourists, but the issue highlights the rank hypocrisy of Highland MP Danny Alexander’s recent public claims that the SNP is not dualling the A9 fast enough.

These assertions, of course, form part of the futile drive towards saving the Lib Dem bacon at the forthcoming Westminster Election. For Danny to suggest that the Scottish Government’s commitment to the A9 is somehow lacklustre is patent nonsense. The Liberal Democrats had their chance in Office, yet they did very little to bring forward dualling of the A9. The best they could do for the A9 was offer highly unpopular triple lanes; this from a party who accuse the SNP of favouring the Central Belt.

Through positive SNP Government action A9 dualling is going full steam ahead with three design contracts awarded. These contracts are making rapid progress with public consultations on design options currently underway. Construction of the first new dual section is programmed to start in a few months, and further section starts are programmed for 2016 and 2107. Though the project completion date of 2025 was agreed at outset, all this work is currently ahead of schedule, so with a fair wind it might all be completed ahead of schedule too.

We also have an opportunity to create a state of the art “People Way” (for walkers, cyclists, and runners, and mobility scooters) and “green bridges” (allowing wildlife to cross the road with less of a risk of perishing) which is something I wholeheartedly support. If we are going to spend millions of pounds on creating a road for tomorrow we should be aspiring to make the road the best road we can. Creating a road that is as good for people, and animals, as well as motorists, would go a long way to transforming the A9 into one of the best trunk roads in the modern world.

The other cynical Lib Dem attack was their ridiculous position over the A9 Average Speed Camera Scheme. The deafening silence now is all the more telling given the project has been evidenced as improving driver behaviour, reducing reckless speeding and overtaking and even improving HGV journey times (with the 50mph HGV pilot operating) on the A9.

The A9 Dualling, the proposed A96 dualling, the UHI Campus in Inverness the enterprise zones for Nigg and Invergordon. The development of the Kilbeg village at Sabhal mor Ostaig, the forthcoming investment in new hospitals in Skye, Badenoch and Lochaber are just a short list demonstrating what the SNP Government is achieving in the Highlands, despite the Tory and Lib Dem austerity cuts.