Introduction

Background to the A75 Springholm and Crocketford Improvements

The A75 Trunk Road in the south west of Scotland is 159km long and extends from Stranraer in the west to Gretna and the A74(M) in the east. The route forms part of the E18 Trans European Road Network and constitutes the main east-west link in the South of Scotland region, linking the mainland of Great Britain to Northern Ireland through ferry terminals at Cairnryan, just north of Stranraer. The route is primarily a single-carriageway standard road, with several Wide Single 2+1 (WS2+1) carriageway sections and short sections of dual carriageway that provide overtaking opportunities. The principal towns along the A75 route are Stranraer, Newton Stewart, Gatehouse of Fleet, Castle Douglas, Dumfries, Annan and Gretna.

With the completion of the Dunragit Bypass east of Stranraer, the settlements of Springholm and Crocketford are the only two remaining settlements that the A75 Trunk Road still directly passes through and both necessitate the reduction of the speed limit to 30 miles per hour. Springholm and Crocketford are situated between the larger towns of Castle Douglas to the west and Dumfries to the east, which is one of the key economic centres within Dumfries and Galloway and the South West Scotland region.

Realignments of the A75 at Springholm and Crocketford were originally identified as part of the A75 Gretna to Stranraer – Route Action Plan – Firm Strategy Report, published in October 1999. The Route Action Plan recommended a Long Term Strategy for Improvement, which included a Springholm Bypass that could consist of an off-line upgrade to WS2+1 standard, whereas a Crocketford bypass was appraised as a long-term option but not ultimately recommended to be progressed at that time. The first Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR), published in October 2009, also recommended a ‘targeted programme of measures to improve links to the Loch Ryan port facilities from the Trans European Network’, with measures including ‘physical works aimed at providing safer overtaking opportunities’.

The South West Scotland Transport Study - Initial Appraisal: Case for Change (SWSTS) was published in January 2020. This was one of three pilot studies for the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) and included a recommendation for the development of capacity enhancement measures on the A75, such as the introduction of a bypass of Springholm and Crocketford. STPR2 , published in December 2022 by Transport Scotland, presented the Strategic Case for improved access to Stranraer and the ports at Cairnryan with Recommendation 40 that included A75 realignment around Springholm and Crocketford as a potential location for improvement schemes.

In November 2021, the Union Connectivity Review (UCR) was published that included a recommendation for the UK Government to offer funding to the Scottish Government in order to support the upgrade of the A75 Trunk Road in Dumfries and Galloway. This funding was recommended to support the improvement of the critical connection between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. In March 2024 Scottish Ministers were formally granted funding from the Union Connectivity Development Fund to progress Recommendation 40 from STPR2, specifically to take work in relation to the realignment of the A75 around Springholm and Crocketford through the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) Stage 1 and Stage 2 Scheme Assessment process.

Purpose of the Strategic Assessment

In November 2024, Transport Scotland commissioned Jacobs to progress design and assessment work in relation to the realignment of the A75 around Springholm and Crocketford. This commission includes undertaking and reporting on a Strategic Assessment, and depending on the outcome of the Strategic Assessment may then include the preparation of a DMRB Stage 1 Scheme Assessment Report for the initial development and assessment of proposed improvement strategies for the A75 Trunk Road. The commission also sets out the requirement for a DMRB Stage 2 Scheme Assessment for route option assessment and identification of a preferred route and the development of a draft Outline Business Case (OBC) and a draft Scottish Trunk Road Infrastructure Project Evaluation (STRIPE) plan.

This document reports on the Strategic Assessment, which has reviewed the previous work and studies completed to date that relates to the A75 and provides the context and background development leading up to the current commission. The Strategic Assessment identifies what is required to ‘bridge the gap’ between the more strategic-level appraisal undertaken previously as part of the STPR2 , and the next stages of more detailed DMRB scheme assessments and the development of the OBC. The report provides a summary of the identified gaps that exist from the previous analysis work used to identify problems and opportunities, with evidence-bases presented that will be used to address these gaps. Information from the analysis of selected datasets that have already been updated has also informed the refinement of the draft scheme objectives for the A75 Springholm and Crocketford Improvements, also referred to as the proposed scheme.

Structure of this Strategic Assessment

This Strategic Assessment has been structured as follows:

Section 2 Background Context

Outline of the assessment corridor and a comprehensive desktop review of current socio-economic and transport conditions within the assessment corridor.

Section 3 Relevant Policies, Strategies and Previous Studies

Summary of relevant studies, policy and strategy documents that have led to the development of the A75 Springholm and Crocketford Improvements.

Section 4 Strategic Review

Detailed summary of the content, data and analysis presented in previous studies that are of particular relevance to the A75 Springholm and Crocketford Improvements.

Section 5 Gap Identification

Summary of the gaps that have been identified through the review presented in previous sections. This includes consideration of the available evidence-base required to address the identified gaps and reaffirm the previously identified problems and opportunities.

Section 6 Environment Review

Summary of the strategic environmental assessments previously undertaken as part of the STPR2 and Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) work

Section 7 Objective Mapping and Refinement

Review of initial draft scheme objectives to ‘map’ the alignment with the broader regional and national objectives set out in STPR2 and the SWSTS. This includes the initial refinement of the objectives to ensure that they better align with the over-arching STPR2 objectives and follow SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) principles.

Section 8 Summary and Next Steps

Presents a summary of the Strategic Assessment findings and identification of next steps for the progression of the A75 Springholm and Crocketford Improvements.