Trunk Roads worth £1.38 billion

The valuable contribution that the trunk road network brings to Scotland has been highlighted by Transport Minister, Humza Yousaf, at a conference on transport and infrastructure in Edinburgh this morning.

Mr Yousaf referenced a new report from The Transport Research Laboratory which shows that the strategic network contributes around £1.38 billion (aGVA) to the Scottish economy each year through a variety of sectors including freight and public transport.

The research also highlights that the trunk roads support more than 31,000 jobs in Scotland – including those in construction and maintenance.

The wider benefits for society are also brought to the fore and the report underlines that the network enhances connectivity, particularly for rural and remote communities where the major roads help improve access to education, employment and healthcare.

Mr Yousaf said:

“We have always known that Scotland’s trunk road network supports some of our key industries like tourism and food and drink and this report puts a value on that, underlining the importance of this national asset.

“The Scottish Government and Transport Scotland are firmly committed to the operation of our strategic roads and by the end of this financial year we will have spent more than £8.2bn to make sure they are safe and efficient with twenty-three major improvements projects and more than 250 lane km of trunk road constructed since 2007. 

“This on-going investment is coming to fruition on many of our major projects, including the Queensferry Crossing, the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project and the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie-Tipperty project.  We are also increasing the maintenance budget by more than a third in the coming year to make sure that our key industries can continue to use the trunk roads to their full advantage.”