| A9 road | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Part of E15 | |
| Length: | 269 mi (433 km) |
| Major junctions | |
| South end: | Polmont |
| M9 motorway M876 motorway A91 road A84 road M90 motorway A93 road A85 road A86 road A95 road A96 road A82 road A99 road |
|
| North end: | Scrabster |
| Location | |
| Primary destinations: |
Falkirk Stirling Perth Inverness Thurso |
| Road network | |
The A9 is a major road running from the Falkirk council area in central Scotland to Thurso in the far north, via Stirling, Bridge of Allan, Perth and Inverness. At 273 miles (439 km), it is the longest road in Scotland and the fifth-longest A-road in the United Kingdom. Historically it was the main road between Edinburgh and John o' Groats, and has been called the spine of Scotland.[1]
In the south the road's importance has been eclipsed by (1) the A90 across the Forth Road Bridge and the M90 motorway, which now link Edinburgh more directly with Perth, bypassing Stirling and Bridge of Allan as formerly important bridge points, and (2) the M9, which is now the main road between Edinburgh and Bridge of Allan. Between Edinburgh and Falkirk the old A9 route has been reclassified into the A803 and the B9080 amongst others; part of the route between Kirkliston and Maybury no longer exists as the area is now part of Edinburgh Airport. Between Falkirk and Bridge of Allan, the A9 survives as a more or less parallel road to the M9.
The link between the M9 and the A9, by Bridge of Allan, is the notorious Keir Roundabout. "The Keir roundabout produces more accidents per year than any other site in central Scotland."[2]
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The 138 mile (222 km) section between Bridge of Allan and Inverness, via Perth, was substantially rebuilt during the 1970s, '80s, and early '90s, but it follows essentially the same route except where it skirts towns and villages instead of running through their centres. Between Perth and Inverness the road has been dubbed the Killer, because of accidents and fatalities where dual-carriageway sections merge into single-carriageway - the principal cause being motorists driving at excessive speeds to overtake lines of slower-moving vehicles before the dual carriageway ends. The non-grade separated junctions along the northern sections where drivers make a right turn across the opposing traffic flow is another common cause of accidents. Since 2007, the Scottish Government has given serious consideration to converting the entire Perth-Inverness section to dual carriageway with more grade separated junctions, at an estimated cost of £600 million. The Scottish Parliament, where the SNP government at the time was in minority, voted to go ahead with the controversial Edinburgh Trams project. This resulted in the funding which would have significantly dualled the A9, being diverted to a project which has faced severe delays.[3]
In late 2008 the Scottish Government's transport plan for the next 20 years was announced. It brings forward planned improvements to the A9 in an attempt to stimulate the economy and protect jobs.
Work costing a total of £8.5 million will take place at Moy, Carrbridge and Bankfoot. Northbound overtaking lanes will be created and the carriageways reconstructed at both Moy and Carrbridge. Junction improvements will also be made at Moy, with work under way from September 2009. The Carrbridge scheme was due to begin in February 2009.
Nationally, an extra £38 million was to be spent in the 2008 financial year, followed by a further £232 million in 2009 and 2010.
It is estimated the move will help support in the region of around 4000 jobs across Scotland.[4]
In November 2011 the Scottish Government announced that it will upgrade the entire road from Perth to Inverness to dual carriageway, although work would not be completed until 2025. [5]
The M90 meets the A9 at Broxden Junction, on the outskirts of Perth. Broxden Junction is one of the busiest and most important road junctions in Scotland.
In the north, beyond Inverness, the A9 designation has been transferred in response to construction of new bridges across the Moray Firth (the Kessock Bridge), the Cromarty Firth and the Dornoch Firth; and so that the A9 leads not to John o' Groats but to Scrabster Harbour, Thurso, where a government-supported ferry service takes traffic to and from Stromness in Orkney. Therefore various towns and villages which were on the A9 are now seriously distanced from this trunk road.[6]
Between Perth and Inverness, the A9 forms part of Euroroute E15. Inverness is the northern terminus of this route, and it runs south to the southern Spanish town of Algeciras.
From Falkirk to Bridge of Allan the A9 runs through or near Bannockburn, Plean, Torwood, Larbert and Stirling.
From Bridge of Allan to Inverness the A9 runs through or near Lecropt, Dunblane, Blackford, Auchterarder, Gleneagles, Broxden Junction, Perth, Birnam, Dunkeld, Pitlochry, Blair Atholl, the Grampian Mountains, Dalwhinnie, Kingussie, Aviemore, Carrbridge and Moy.
From Inverness the A9 runs across, through or near the Moray Firth, the Black Isle, Tore, Muir of Ord, Conon Bridge, the Cromarty Firth, Easter Ross, Dingwall, Evanton, Alness, Invergordon, Nigg Bay, Fearn, Tain, the Dornoch Firth, Sutherland, Dornoch, The Mound, Golspie, Dunrobin Castle, Brora, Helmsdale, Caithness, Berriedale (and the Berriedale Braes), Badbea, Dunbeath, Latheron, Mybster, Georgemas and Thurso. The road ends at Scrabster Harbour, Thurso.
From the A96 in the Raigmore area of Inverness the A9 has junctions with other classified roads as follows:
The A9 ends in Thurso, at Scrabster Harbour (ND101704).
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