Murdo has stressed how dangerous the A9 Perth to Inverness road is from personal experience as he urges the SNP Government to progress with the £3 billion dualling of the road.
The Scottish Conservative politician was involved in a head-on collision in 1990 on a single carriageway stretch on the road near Carrbridge. He suffered multiple fractures and spent weeks in hospital but fortunately survived.
He spoke this week during a Motion on ‘Essential Road Improvements’ at Holyrood, brought to the Chamber by fellow Scottish Conservative MSP Graham Simpson, when he highlighted how there has been 12 fatalities in 10 months on single carriageway stretches of the A9 this year
Commenting, Murdo Fraser MSP said: “The A9 trunk road between Perth and Inverness has an unenviable reputation as Scotland’s most dangerous road. Over the years we have seen too many serious accidents and fatalities, mostly on single carriageway sections of the route. This year has been one of the worst on record.
“Every one of these is a tragedy with enormous knock-on consequences for the families and friends of those involved. There are strong economic arguments for the benefits to Perthshire and the Highlands from completing A9 dualling, but to me this is an issue of road safety.
“Too many people have died on the A9 single carriageways. They are dying this year. They will continue to die.
“It is a vital issue for my Perthshire constituents who know how deadly it is, and it’s also an issue that matters to me personally. In 1990, I was involved in a head-on collision on the A9 single carriageway near Carrbridge. I suffered multiple fractures and spent weeks in hospital. I was one of the lucky ones, I survived. Others have not been so fortunate.”
Murdo continued: “For decades now I have campaigned for A9 improvements, with petitions, public meetings and by raising the issue in Parliament with successive Ministers. It has been clear to me, as to many others, that only by completing the dualling of the road would we substantially reduce the accident risk.
“The A9 dualling programme was due to start in 2015 and be completed by 2025. However, in the 11 years since that commitment was made, just 12.5 miles of dual carriageway have been opened. That is 12.5 miles in 15 years of SNP Government. To put that in perspective, the Conservative Governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major opened 25.3 miles of dual carriageway between Perth and Inverness - more than twice as much.
“Progress has been painfully slow. The involvement of the anti-road Greens in Government has added to that concern. I am regularly contacted by constituents who live on or close to the A9 wanting clarity on the route."
