§ Mr. McKelveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much funding has been allocated to date on upgrading the A77; and if he will report on the progress of upgrading the A77.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 30 April 1991]: Since 1979 two major improvements on the A77 have been completed at a cost of some £7 million. A further major improvement costing an estimated £4 million is currently under construction. Current plans for the Ayr road route—the proposed link between the M77 and the A77—envisage a start to construction of the trunk road section in line with progress by Strathclyde regional council on the construction of the Glasgow city section of this jointly funded scheme. Strathclyde regional council was given a supplementary capital allocation of £1.4 million in 1990–91 to enable it to bring forward work which would otherwise have had to be paid for in 1991–92 and thus free resources to allow a start to be made to the advance works of the local road section in 1991–92. The regional council was given a further addition of £1–6 million to its capital allocation for 1991–92 to encourage it to proceed with the project. These additions have created the opportunity for Strathclyde to advance the main works if it chooses. After completion of the Ayr road route, dualling of the remaining four-lane single carriageway section of the A77 between Glasgow and Ayr is planned. Four further improvement schemes on the route south of Ayr are also in course of preparation.