A CLEAR investment plan is needed for the A75 and A77, an MSP has said.
South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has once again raised the issues with both routes in the Scottish Parliament.
Speaking during a debate on rural roads last week, the local MSP highlighted their importance to the Scottish economy and urged the Scottish Government to set out a clear plan for the proposed feasibility study into improvements to the A75 following the announcement of £5m of funding from the UK Government to carry out the plan.
He also criticised their failure to set out a delivery plan for improvements to A77, despite their Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 – which proposed some upgrades- being published two years ago and he urged the Government to agree to a taskforce to consider the impact of the growing number of road closures on the road when routine maintenance is being carried out.
He will meet members of the A77 Action Group at the Scottish Parliament on Thursday to hold talks with the Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop.
Mr Smyth said: “The need to upgrade the A75 and the A77 is, at its heart, about saving lives, but it is about improving them, too. Bypassing the towns and villages through which the roads currently run would cut congestion and emissions, from Springholm and Crocketford to Girvan and Kirkoswald.
“However, two years after the much-delayed second strategic transport projects review was published, there is still no delivery plan from the Scottish Government, even for the very modest and inadequate improvements that are proposed to both roads, and there is not a single penny of the investment that was promised for upgrading, either.
“The only investment that has been proposed in relation to the A75 is the £5 million that was announced in the recent UK Government budget to complete a feasibility study into possible upgrades.”
Finishing his speech, the MSP added: “Above all else, I hope that the cabinet secretary will set out when we will see a clear delivery and investment plan for those two key rural roads, which will save lives, grow our economy and improve the environment in the towns and villages across the south-west.”
