Campaigners in Dumfries and Galloway who want to see the A75 upgraded to a dual carriageway are frustrated with the number of increasing accidents along the euro route.
Leading campaigner Danny Pool said “We are only four months into 2017 and there has already been at least eight accidents along different sections of the A75, which works out at two accidents per month so far which is appalling.”
Dual The A75’s frustration comes after recent accidents which seen a car and tractor accident near Mouswald resulting in the tractor ending up on its side and a road crash near Castle Douglas resulting in the road being closed off in both directions and traffic being diverted through the town.
Danny added “When the road is closed in both directions and traffic is diverted through nearby villages and towns this causes safety dangers for the residents living there. Not only does it cause safety concerns but it can seriously delay commuters and HGV traffic on their journey to and from the ferry ports and is not practical diverting large vehicles through small places.”
“When people are delayed they are more likely to speed and overtake in unsafe places to make up time. The recent accidents show that the A75 is clearly unfit for purpose.”
The A75 is a main arterial route which can carry up to ten thousand vehicles per day. The road is also recognised as a part of the Euro Route 18 which is economically important and links the countries of Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.
Dual the A75 would like to see a true commitment to the dualling of the entire A75 route and not just a particular section.
Campaigner Lewis Irving said “Road traffic accidents have been happening all across the A75 therefore dualling only one particular section will not bring an end to this constant incidents”.
“With the region being so rural owning a car is almost a must if you want to travel from east to west given there is no active train line and not regularly running buses. With more and more people in the region buying cars the A75 will continue to get busier and busier. With a road that is already unfit for purpose and with the continual increase in traffic this is only going to result in many more people risking their lives by attempting to overtake other road users on dangerous bends and stretches which could result in serious injuries or worse.”
Dual the A75 would like to see a real commitment from the Transport Minister Humza Yousaf to make the A75 safe and fit for purpose, and want the upgrade of the A75 to a dual carriageway to be one of the projects highlighted in the refresh of the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR) which is likely to take place in 2019. The pressure group want to see this date brought forward.
“If we are going on the statistics so far in 2017 then by the start of 2019 there will have been close to 50 accidents on the A75 which simply isn’t good enough, people’s lives are at stake because of a road which simply isn’t fit for purpose. We want to see the refresh of the STPR earlier than 2019 and want to see the entire A75 upgrade appearing in the commitment” said Danny.
Image and wording courtesy of Danny Pool, Dual the A75
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