First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is facing growing pressure to set out a revised timetable to dual the main roads linking Inverness with Aberdeen and Perth.
The Press and Journal says the upgrade projects for the A9 and A96 have been hit by delays and doubts about the long-awaited dual carriageway work.
Former SNP government member Fergus Ewing asked the first minister at Holyrood to publish a timetable for both schemes, saying lives were lost on the A9 over the summer.
Three American tourists died in a crash involving a lorry and a car on the A9 Inverness to Perth road at Ralia, near Newtonmore, in August.
Mr Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, said his constituents believe “more lives are lost on single carriageway sections because, unlike dual carriageways, there is no central reservation separating opposing flows of traffic”.
He said Ms Sturgeon must deliver the SNP government’s “long-standing pledges on dualling of the A9 and A96” and help save lives in the future.
Ms Sturgeon said road safety is of “paramount importance”.
Work continues on A9
She told MSPs that work continues on the A9 with the section between Tomatin and Moy “currently in procurement”.
A construction contract for this section is expected to be awarded later this year.
Work to upgrade 80 miles of the A9 between Inverness and Perth was originally pencilled-in for completion by 2025.
However, only two of the 11 sections have been dualled to date.
Meanwhile, the government’s target for dualling the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen was initially to be 2030.
But the dualling programme between the two cities was plunged into doubt after the SNP struck a power-sharing deals with the Greens last year.
Ms Sturgeon continued: “The evidence-based review on fully dualling the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen will report before the end of this year.
Enhancements
“And we will take forward enhancements on that corridor that improve connectivity between surrounding towns, tackles congestion and addresses safety and environmental issues.”
However, north-east Tory MSP Liam Kerr said the ongoing consultation on the A96 corridor did not offer the option of dualling the A96 between Huntly and Aberdeen.
He asked the first minister if that meant dualling of this stretch has been “quietly dropped” by ministers.