Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - 
A £27 million investment in three vital road improvement projects is set to bring benefits to road users across the South West this Christmas, Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson said today.
Two of these projects - on the A77 at Glen App and Haggstone - have finished three months ahead of schedule, and a third project, an upgrade of the A76 near Glenairlie due to be finished in late December, will provide additional overtaking opportunities.
Meanwhile, the de-trunked section of the existing A76 is being converted to a cycleway and finishing works should be complete by the end of January. All three schemes will open up economic opportunities by improving journey times and connections across Dumfries and Galloway. The investment will also bring faster, more efficient access to the important ports of Cairnryan and Stranraer.
Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson said:
"I am delighted that this important work on the A76 and A77 is complete.
"The routes provide economic lifelines, linking central Scotland to Dumfries and Galloway whilst providing vital access to the ports of Cairnryan and Stranraer. To see the work on the A77 being completed so far ahead of schedule is particularly pleasing.
"This £27 million investment will bring improved connections for local communities, businesses, freight and tourists. The efficiency we have seen in the delivery of the scheme shows just how the collaborative approach adopted by Transport Scotland and contractors RJ McLeod and Raynesway can bring real benefits.
"This is more good news for the region following the announcement of our Strategic Transport Projects (STPR) review last week – a review which is at the leading edge of transport planning. This Government has set out our future transport ambitions for Scotland over the next 20 years and made clear that our investment priorities for the South West include vital upgrades to the A75, A76 and A77, dualling of the A77 around Ayr and a new Dalry bypass."
The work at Glen App has delivered just under a mile of new carriageway and was carried out in conjunction with a carriageway widening project at Haggstone, two and a half miles north of the Cairnryan ferry terminal. Both projects were carried out by RJ McLeod.
The A76 Glenairlie project, managed by Raynesway Construction, involved widening just under two miles of carriageway to provide improved overtaking opportunities to both directions of travel.
Meanwhile, another A77 improvement scheme continues to progress as the consultation on the £11 million Symington to Bogend toll project has come to a close. Transport Scotland has received a number of statutory objections for this scheme and, while it will continue to work with objectors to resolve these, it is likely a Public Local Enquiry (PLI) will be held in the new year.
A PLI is always anticipated for a scheme of this significance and the statutory process has already been factored in to the project programme. Work is expected to begin in 2010 with the construction phase lasting approximately 12 months.
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Karen Adam is now the MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast
