3 days ago
Extra £3.45 million awarded to study into possible upgrades to key Dumfries and Galloway road
The UK Government has allocated the cash to a project looking into bypassing the A75 around Springholm and Crocketford.
An extra £3.45 million is to be put into investigating upgrades to the A75.
The UK Government has allocated the cash to a study looking into bypassing Springholm and Crocketford.
The new funding is part of a £66 million package Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced to improve transport links in the west of Scotland.
She said: 'We're pledging billions to back Scottish jobs, industry and renewal - that's why we're investing in the major transport projects, including exploring upgrades to the A75, that local communities have been calling for.
'Whilst previous governments oversaw over a decade of decline of our transport infrastructure, we're investing in Britain's renewal. This £66 million investment is exactly what our Plan for Change is about, investing in what matters to you in the places that you live.'
The need to upgrade the A75 was identified in the Scottish Government's second Strategic Transport Projects Review and the UK Government's Union Connectivity Review.
Despite roads devolved to the Scottish Government, in 2022, the then Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced £5 million for a feasibility study into bypassing Springholm and Crocketford.
That was increased to £8 million by Tory Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in 2023 – but after Labour won last year's General Election, the amount allocated was reduced to 'up to £5 million'.
The aaward of an extra £3.45 million now takes the total for the study to a potential £8.45 million.
Scotland Secretary, Ian Murray, said: 'This £66 million investment in Scotland's roads demonstrates the UK Government's commitment to improving infrastructure and driving economic growth in all parts of the UK as part of our Plan for Change. This investment will make a real difference to people's daily lives and to the local economies of the south of Scotland, Ayrshire and Renfrewshire.
'The A75 is strategically important just not within but beyond Scotland. Its upgrading is long overdue. I am pleased that the UK Government has stepped up to fund the delivery of the A75 feasibility study in full.
'This investment is yet another example of how the UK Government is building the foundations for a stronger, more prosperous future that benefits communities right across Scotland.'
While the UK Government is funding the study, work to upgrade the road will come from Holyrood.
The Scottish Government appointed technical advisors to work on plans for upgrades last year.
