The incredible new £3.7bn dual carriageway between two UK cities 113 miles apart

Scotland is currently in the midst of constructing one of its largest ever transport infrastructure programmes that will slash journey times between two major UK cities. The £3.7bn A9 Dualling Programme will see the upgrade of 83 miles of road between Inverness and Perth by developing 11 separate sections of single carriageway road.

They are separated by some 113 miles and trips between the two can take up to three hours, with drivers often stuck behind HGVs that have to stick to a 50mph speed limit. It's been dubbed Scotland's most dangerous road with 17 deaths in 2022 alone.

The project is designed to deliver improved road safety and economic growth, as well as better links to pedestrian, cycling and public transport facilities. Overall, it is expected to save drivers roughly 18 minutes if travelling between Perth and Inverness.

While this may seem comparatively inconsequential for many, the benefits have been touted primarily for the local fishing and whiskey industries, where transport times are critical.

Key elements include demolition and replacement of three underbridges, improving footpaths like the Rob Roy Way where it crosses the A9 and two new major structures at Tummel and Clunie.

However, the project has been plagued by a series of delays with just two sections of single carriageway on the A9, totalling about 11 miles (18km) of road, having been upgraded over the past decade.

This means around 77 miles have still to be improved as part of the multi-billion pound project. Developers originally planned to finish the development by 2025.

Former transport secretary, Mairi McAllan, announced a 10-year delay to the proposals in December 2023.

The six-mile stretch between Tomatin and Moy was orginally meant be finished by the end of 2027 but this has been pushed back to 2028 after its contractor warned that additional time would be needed because of the impact of weather and environmental restrictions around working in rivers and streams.

The total cost of upgrading this single carriageway section is expected to run to £308m - approximately £111m more than previously estimated.