Plans to make an announcement on the dualling of the A9 were shelved to allow input from Scotland’s new transport minister, Humza Yousaf has said.
On Monday, a Government-initiated question (GIQ) was tabled on the subject by SNP MSP Jim Fairlie.
GIQs are usually used to allow ministers to make an announcement on a specific subject.
But the question was later withdrawn, with the Scottish Conservatives claiming the announcement had been cancelled.
Between the question being tabled and subsequently shelved, Fiona Hyslop was appointed as transport minister following the resignation of Kevin Stewart on mental health grounds, and Net Zero Secretary Mairi McAllan’s remit was expanded to include more oversight of the portfolio.
“It is only right, of course, that I have asked that transport team to look at the detail of the dualling of the A9.”
It is not clear what the Government planned to announce, if anything, in relation to the road when the GIQ was first tabled.
An announcement is now expected in the autumn.
Meanwhile, the First Minister reiterated his promise to complete the long-awaited dualling project, which brought campaigner Laura Hansler to the Scottish Parliament this week to testify.
Mr Yousaf said: “We are, I am, this Government is absolutely committed to dualling the A9.”
Mr Yousaf said the Government has invested in road safety improvements on the A9.
But Tory leader Mr Ross responded: “That was perhaps one of the most disappointing answers I’ve ever heard in this chamber.
“Last year, deaths on the A9 were at a 20-year high, the First Minister was trying to say that the investment and the upgrades that we have seen were a success, but in a decade, the SNP have upgraded 11 miles of that route.
“Just over a mile a year, while too many families grieve the loss of a loved one.”
