On a sunny winter day, a trip along the A9 or A82 can be a total pleasure.  Stunning views and light traffic combining to deliver a drive or ride that will remain long in the memory.  Just the sort of thing visitors come to Scotland to enjoy.

And then, clunk, back to reality, terrible weather, roadworks, long platoons behind a lorry or a motorhome, drivers jostling for overtaking opportunities and sudden changes from wide open spaces to tight corners.

On paper these roads are like any other, just tarmac, white lines, signposts and junctions but in reality, they alone control the quality of life of thousands of people.  Nearly every basic requirement of modern daily life in Fort William, Inverness or beyond will have come by road at some point.

But are the A9 and A82 fit for purpose?  Well in my view they are not for many reasons; the traffic mix has changed with the growing Highland economy, road user expectations are different, vehicles have changed and resilience related to climate change is a new factor to consider.  Indeed, like the ice shaped landscapes they pass through the progress to upgrade them has been glacial!

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Inverness and Fort William have grown like topsy, fed by the same type of ‘just in time’ logistics that we take for granted in the central belt.  This means a constant stream of lorries at all times of day and night or the shelves will go empty.  The growth of small businesses and sole traders has also been reflected in the growing number of vans zipping around to service the new, and old, industries in the Highlands.  Public services such as hospitals, supermarkets, banks, post offices, medical centres etc have all been trimmed back and centralised forcing people to come to them and not vice versa.

Added to that the boom in tourist traffic, motorhomes, consumer demand for high quality services and the search for new experiences and you have a new breed of road user on the A9 and A82.  We also have an ageing population who need and want to stay mobile for as long as possible to remain independent.  Active travel is playing a small part in this which may grow more if the right infrastructure is provided.  The actual vehicles we drive are more fuel efficient so the need for local fuel stations between towns has reduced leading to pressure on local garages who now struggle to survive with hundreds closing in recent years.  This may change with electric cars, but most will be able to get from the big cities to the main towns in one charge.

These trends increase the requirement to keep roads available for use 24/7 and 365 days a year.  Severe weather and incidents that close these roads lead to levels of disruption not seen in the past when local services might still have existed.  Huge diversions and days of closure simply reinforce the concept that the Highlands are difficult and costly to access and get around.  Cancelled bookings and disrupted deliveries have tipped far too many businesses over the edge in recent times.

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How can we turn this around and make it clear that the Highlands are always open for business?  Step one is to get all partners to work together and recognise the critical role the A9 and A82 play and make them a top priority for investment.    It might not be ‘green’ to say so but rail transport will never be able to meet the requirements of these areas and road improvements are the only answer.  New and improved roads will allow better bus services and safe active travel options as well as delivering the extra capacity for road vehicles that we need.

Dualling, more overtaking opportunities and improved junctions save lives, reduce congestion, and make the roads more resilient to severe weather.  But, the process of delivering new roads has to change or the new promises on the A9 will prove as empty as the old ones.  This requires changes to planning, funding and contracts, as well as innovative engineering.  Everyone seems to agree on the need for improvements, but it takes far too long to deliver them.  Highland drivers already pay plenty in taxes, rates, council tax and fuel duties so they deserve a fair share. 

Unless the cost of transport can be brought down the plain fact is that households in the Highlands will continue to pay a bigger percentage of their income just to stay mobile than anywhere else in Scotland.  Its over ten years since fuel duty rebates of 5 pence per litre were introduced in rural areas in the Highlands and Islands and the scheme could be widened to cover more parts of the mainland in my view.  The ups and downs of the global fuel market have obscured many of its benefits, but the growth of community fuel pumps shows what can be done to reduce the need to travel for fuel and bring affordable services back into local areas.

Will moving around the Highlands be a dream or a nightmare in the future?  I’d like to think more on the positive side, but it’s going to take guaranteed investment and a concerted effort by us all to stop driving people out of our most beautiful areas.

Neil Greig is the Policy Advisor at IAM RoadSmart

Now semi retired and working as a road safety consultant, Neil joined the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) in 2007 after time spent with the AA in Scotland.  Neil headed the IAM’s Policy and Research Division until October 2023 producing award winning research and working with the media and opinion formers across the UK and Europe. Based in the West of Scotland (Kilmacolm), Neil now advises the IAM on road safety issues in Scotland.  He represents the IAM on the Transport Scotland Road Safety Operational Group, Road Safety Scotland Publicity Advisory Group, A9 Safety Group and working parties on motorcycle and older driver safety in Scotland.