The road’treasury building perth origins lie in the military roads building programme of the 18th century, further supplemented by the building of several bridges in later years. The A9 route was formally designated in 1923, and originally ran from Edinburgh to Inverness. The route was soon extended north from Inverness up to John O’Groats.
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 Keir Roundabout. A section of one of General Wade’s old military roads, south of Inverness. The A9’s origins lie in the military roads building programme carried out by General Wade in the 18th century to allow deployment of forces in key locations within the Highlands. However, Wade had still to bridge the River Tay at Aberfeldy. Construction began in 1733 to a design by William Adam.
The bridge was completed within the year, but Wade wrote “The Bridge of Tay was a work of great difficulty and also much more expensive than was calculated. 4,000, the bridge became the most expensive item on Wade’s road building programme. In 1802, Thomas Telford was requested by the Lords of the Treasury to carry out a survey of the interior of the Scottish Highlands. In his report, he highlighted the inadequacy of the old military roads to meet the requirements of the general population. The original route of the designated A9 began in Edinburgh at the Corstorphine junction in the west of the city, branching north off the A8.
Bridge of Allan and Inverness, via Perth, was substantially rebuilt during the 1970s and 80s, but it follows essentially the same route except where it bypasses towns and villages instead of running through their centres. The most significant alteration of the A9 route was the realignment of the route north from Inverness, crossing the Moray Firth via the Kessock Bridge, cutting through the Black Isle and back across the Cromarty Firth. In November 2011 the Scottish Government announced that it would upgrade the entire road from Perth to Inverness to dual carriageway. Fairhurst joint venture in April 2014.
In July 2013, the Scottish Government announced a plan to install average speed cameras on the A9 between Perth and Inverness. This has been undertaken with an aim to reduce accidents and fatalities on the road, and will be the second permanent average speed camera scheme in Scotland. A study in 2016 found that the dualling project would cost more to construct than it would bring in, including wider economic benefits. Plans to dual the A9 and A96 have been criticised by Patrick Harvie of the Scottish Greens, who has said the plans are incompatible with the Scottish Government’s climate initiatives. The A9 runs through the site of the Battle of Killiecrankie. Expanding the road here will destroy some of the battleground.
Transport Scotland say dualling the road will have “some impact” on the site. Kirkliston and Maybury no longer exists at all as the area is now part of Edinburgh Airport. At Broxden Junction on the outskirts of Perth, the A9 meets the M90 motorway which carries traffic from Fife and the Forth Road Bridge. The section between Perth and Inverness is often cited as being the most dangerous section of the road, and regularly appears in lists of Scotland’s most dangerous roads. The section from Keir Roundabout to Inverness had average speed cameras installed in 2014 and at the same time the single carriageway speed limit for HGVs was increased from 40 mph to 50 mph. Between Perth and Inverness, the A9 forms part of Euroroute E15.
Inverness is the northern terminus of this route. From Falkirk to Bridge of Allan the A9 runs through or near Bannockburn, Plean, Torwood, Larbert and Stirling. A9 over the Moray Firth to the Black Isle. The A832 and the A835 meet the A9 at the same roundabout, at Tore. The A832 links Muir of Ord with the A9. The B817 runs through Evanton, Alness and Invergordon.