Scottish and UK governments have failed to upgrade the roads from Cairnyan to Glasgow and to the M6 at Gretna

Last week I drove the Cairnryan to Gretna A75 road in Scotland for the first time in years and was surprised to find little has changed on this route to improve the road.
Letter to the editorLetter to the editor
Letter to the editor

You can see the improved infrastructure that has benefited both Belfast and Larne ports in Northern Ireland. Likewise the M6 corridor that connects England to Scotland and Gretna at the border.

EU membership was focused on improving connectivity between cities and travel hubs in Europe. What we have witnessed since joining in 1973 is very limited improvements to the A75 route that is crucial to improving both tourist and commercial activity between Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Northern England.

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To see lengthy traffic queues in both directions begged the question why the EU, Scotland and the UK governments have not been more proactive in securing funding to improve and upgrade this essential route.

In 2020 to witness slow moving agricultural machinery stalling traffic on single lane carriageways is not what we expected 50 years after joining the EU.

From first travelling this road in the 1970s I never expected only cosmetic improvements to be carried out in the following 50 years.

It leaves many unanswered questions on why the Scottish and UK governments have failed to improve the road infrastructure between Cairnryan and Glasgow and like wise the road to Gretna and the M6.

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If we are to prioritise tourism and industrial production in Northern Ireland we need to address the improvements required to the A75.

George Millar, Newtownards

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