South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth used a debate in the Scottish Parliament last week to demand action from the Scottish Government to make vital improvements to the A75 and A77.

The local MSP also raised a heart breaking story from constituent Samantha-Jane Sheil who tragically lost her dad in a collision on the A75.

Speaking in parliament, Colin Smyth said: “This is not the first debate that we have had on the A75 and A77, and, to be frank, it will not be the last, because we know what the cabinet secretary’s response will be today.

“There is currently no delivery plan from the Scottish Government, even for the modest and inadequate improvements that are proposed for both roads in STPR2. There is no timeline for the feasibility study on the A75, and the £8 million for the study has not been received from the UK Government. Not a single penny has been committed by either Government to delivering a single major improvement to either of the roads.

“The case for making those crucial arteries safer, greener and better is clear, and that has never been more important.

“Samantha-Jane Sheil, a constituent of mine, said to me recently “On the 24th November my dad Tony was involved in a collision with an HGV on the A75. He was pronounced dead at the scene. He was just 3 minutes away from home. No daughters should carry their dad’s coffin at just 19 and 16. He shouldn’t have missed my 20th birthday in January. My dad didn’t deserve what happened to him. Just like everyone else who has died on this road”.

“Every three days, there is a casualty or an injury on the A75 or A77.

“There have been 564 in just five years. Whether those involved are driving a car or a truck or riding a bike, too many lives are being lost, and many more will be lost unless we invest to make those roads safer.”

Colin Smyth continued: “As well as putting the safety case for improvements, we also need to nail the myth that investing in improving those roads would be bad for the environment.

“One haulier reported that its emission data shows that, on average, lorries on those roads emit two tonnes more CO2 every day than they would on a dual carriageway.

“Does anyone really think there is anything green about 40-tonne wagons rattling past the front doors of homes in Crocketford or Springholm on the A75, or in Lendalfoot, Minishant, Kirkoswald, Turnberry, Girvan and Ballantrae on the A77? Those villages have not been bypassed on what are supposed to be key trunk roads and the route to Northern Ireland.

“We also know that it is better for the environment to ship freight by sea than to do so by air, by having freight traffic from Scotland use Cairnryan rather than travelling further, but sometimes more quickly, to ports in the north of England.

“The fact that the A75 and the A77 are too slow and too unreliable is damaging not just to the south-west economy, but to Scotland’s economy as a whole.”