11th November 2026
The Scottish Government has once again confirmed its commitment to completing the dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness by the end of 2035. Transport Secretary Stephen Flynn has been speaking about the programme and the importance of improving safety on one of Scotland's most important and frequently criticised trunk roads.
The commitment is welcome. But there is another question that deserves considerably more attention: what about the roads north of Inverness?
For people living in Caithness and Sutherland, reaching Inverness is not the end of the journey. It is often only the halfway point. Yet there is no comparable multi-billion-pound programme to improve the road connections serving the far North.
A £3.97 billion commitment
The Scottish Government's latest estimate for dualling the 83 miles (133 kilometres) between Perth and Inverness is £3.97 billion, measured at April 2025 prices.
The programme is intended to be completed by the end of 2035, with the Government setting out a series of intermediate targets. Half the route should be dual carriageway by the end of 2030, 67% by the end of 2032, 91% by the end of 2034 and the entire route by the end of 2035.
Two sections are already operational, while major construction is taking place at Tomatin to Moy and Tay Crossing to Ballinluig.
The Government has also moved away from its proposed private-finance approach and will use public capital funding for the remaining projects. A £1.94 billion procurement framework is now progressing, intended to secure the contractors needed to complete the outstanding work.
Stephen Flynn has reiterated that the Government intends to meet the 2035 deadline. This is an important commitment, particularly given that the original promise was to complete the dualling by 2025.
The challenge now is delivery rather than another announcement.
Safety cannot wait until 2035
The A9 has a long history of serious accidents, and the Government has acknowledged that improvements cannot simply wait for the entire road to be dualled.
At a recent meeting in Inverness, Stephen Flynn highlighted the importance of safety measures while construction progresses. Figures discussed included 170 fatalities and injuries on the northern trunk road between 2021 and November 2025.
Improved junctions, lighting, overtaking opportunities and other safety measures have a role to play. Drivers should not have to wait another nine years for improvements that could make a difference now.
But what happens north of Inverness?
This is where the wider transport debate becomes important.
The A9 continues north from Inverness towards Tain, Dornoch, Golspie, Helmsdale, Wick and Thurso. It is a vital economic connection for communities that are already disadvantaged by distance from Scotland's main centres of population.
There are also other important routes, including the A99 serving Wick and the east coast, the A835 towards Ullapool and the roads connecting smaller communities throughout Sutherland.
These roads carry tourists, local residents, agricultural vehicles, commercial deliveries, contractors and emergency services. They are essential to the operation of the local economy.
Caithness is trying to attract investment in energy, engineering, renewable developments, tourism, food production and the opportunities associated with Dounreay and the wider Pentland Firth. All these activities depend on reliable transport.
A business considering locating in the far North will look at more than the availability of land and premises. It will consider whether staff, customers, suppliers and equipment can get there reliably.
The same applies to tourism. Visitors travelling from the Central Belt may benefit from a faster journey to Inverness, but they still have a considerable distance to travel before reaching Caithness or much of Sutherland.
Maintenance is just as important as new construction
There is no suggestion that every road north of Inverness needs to be turned into a dual carriageway. That would be neither realistic nor necessarily the best use of public money.
But there is a strong case for a properly funded programme of maintenance and improvement.
Road surfaces deteriorate. Potholes develop, drainage problems emerge, verges require attention and bridges need investment. Poor surfaces increase vehicle maintenance costs and can make journeys particularly unpleasant for motorcyclists and cyclists.
For people who use these roads regularly, the condition of the carriageway matters far more than the number of vehicles using it on a particular day.
There is a particular difficulty in the Highlands. Traffic volumes are relatively low compared with the Central Belt, but the distances involved are enormous. If investment decisions are based too heavily on traffic numbers, sparsely populated communities will always struggle to secure their fair share.
A road serving a small population can nevertheless be essential economic infrastructure.
The Scottish Government has previously provided maintenance expenditure figures for the A9, but these do not isolate the Thurso to Inverness section. In its response to a freedom of information request published in November 2025, Transport Scotland explained that it could not provide maintenance costs for that specific stretch.
That raises a reasonable question about whether the Government has sufficiently detailed information available to demonstrate how much is actually being invested in individual sections of the northern road network.
A wider investment strategy is needed
There are several practical improvements that deserve attention.
The condition of the A9 north of Inverness should be assessed and published regularly, with a clear programme for resurfacing and repairs.
Known accident locations should receive priority attention, including junction improvements, better visibility and appropriate safety measures.
Bridges, drainage systems and other important structures should be included in a long-term investment programme rather than left until problems become urgent.
The A99 and the routes serving the communities of Sutherland should also receive proper consideration. Better connections between communities and the main trunk road network would support tourism, business and access to public services.
The Scottish Government and Transport Scotland should publish a longer-term plan showing what improvements are intended, when they will happen and how much money is allocated.
Highland Council, local MSPs, MPs, businesses and community organisations should be pressing for this information.
This is not an argument against the A9 dualling
It is important to be clear that this is not an argument against spending £3.97 billion on improving the road between Perth and Inverness.
That investment has a clear purpose. It should improve safety, reduce journey times and provide a more reliable connection between the Highlands and the rest of Scotland.
But the benefits of improving one part of the national road network should not obscure the needs of other communities.
People in Caithness and Sutherland pay taxes just like everyone else. They need roads that are safe, properly maintained and capable of supporting economic development.
There is also an important question about the balance of national investment. A multi-billion-pound programme can be planned for the A9 south of Inverness, but what is the equivalent long-term commitment to maintaining and improving the roads serving the far North?
Politicians regularly talk about growing the Highland economy, attracting young people and encouraging businesses to invest outside the Central Belt. Those ambitions need practical support.
Reliable roads are part of that support.
The Government has set itself a clear target for the A9. The people of Caithness and Sutherland should now be asking for equally clear answers about the roads north of Inverness.
Completing the A9 dualling by 2035 would be a major achievement. But the Highlands do not end at Inverness, and neither should Scotland's commitment to transport investment.
The £3.97 billion is only the beginning: who pays to maintain the road?
There is another financial question that seems to receive remarkably little attention: how much will it cost to maintain the completed dual carriageway over the next 30 to 50 years?
The £3.97 billion estimate covers the delivery of the dualling programme. It should not be confused with the lifetime cost of operating and maintaining the road.
This is not a minor detail. In evidence considered by a Scottish Parliament committee in 2024, Transport Scotland officials confirmed that future operation and maintenance costs were not included in the programme estimate.
Once completed, the road will have substantially more carriageway surface than the existing single-carriageway route. There will also be additional road infrastructure, including safety barriers, drainage systems, bridges, junctions and other assets that will require inspection, repair and eventual replacement.
It would be wrong to assume that maintenance costs will automatically double, because some infrastructure is shared and maintenance requirements vary. However, there will undoubtedly be additional costs, and these will continue long after the construction contractors have left.
The problem is that Scotland already has a substantial maintenance challenge. Transport Scotland's 2026 Road Asset Management Plan identifies a £1.79 billion backlog of structural maintenance across the trunk road network.
That raises an obvious question. If the Government is committing nearly £4 billion to building the A9, where will the additional money come from to maintain it properly, while also looking after the rest of Scotland's trunk roads?
The Government should publish a long-term financial assessment showing the expected annual maintenance costs of the completed A9, together with estimates for resurfacing, bridge repairs, drainage, safety equipment and other infrastructure over the next 10, 20, 30 and 50 years.
It should also explain how those costs will be funded and whether additional expenditure on the A9 could place further pressure on maintenance budgets elsewhere.
There is little point in celebrating the completion of a multi-billion-pound road improvement if, 20 years later, the same road is suffering from inadequate maintenance because the money was never properly budgeted.
Building a road is a major investment. Keeping it safe and in good condition for the next generation is an equally important financial responsibility.
Road section Expected completion
Tay Crossing to Ballinluig Under construction
Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing 2033
Pitlochry to Killiecrankie Procurement/in preparation
Killiecrankie to Glen Garry 2034
Glen Garry to Crubenmore 2034
Crubenmore to Kincraig 2035
Dalraddy to Slochd 2032
Tomatin to Moy Under construction
The Government's programme also includes the sections already completed at Luncarty to Pass of Birnam and Kincraig to Dalraddy.
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