A SENIOR churchman, who lost a friend in a car crash on the A9 more than a decade ago, has called for the upgrading of the notorious main road to the Highlands to be a national priority.

The number of people killed on the A9 is a shame to the nation, according to Professor Donald Macleod, former principal of Free Church College in Edinburgh, who says the road has an intolerably high accident rate.

Despite the number of crashes, the route has received very different treatment from the Scottish Government to that lavished on other transport projects, he said.

Almost 100 people have been killed on the Perth to Inverness section since 2006.

In 2002, Mr Macleod's friend died on the same stretch.

Retired headteacher Ronald Grant, 68, and his wife Margaret were driving north. They had just passed the Jubilee Bridge near Dunkeld when a van on the wrong side of the road struck their car head-on. Mr Grant died instantly.

Mr Macleod said: "The road is notorious, the rate of accidents intolerably high and the cost in human lives a shame to the nation.

"I am not a frequent user of the A9, but a dozen or so times a year I have to risk it.

"Each time I set off I know there is a risk that the road will be 'closed due to an accident'."

Three people, including a woman and her young daughter, died in the latest fatal crash, which happened earlier this month near the village of Newtonmore.

Abigail Houston, 42, and 
seven-year-old Mia, from the ­Trinity area of Edinburgh, were killed in the accident which also claimed the life of Dr Mohammad Ali Hayajneh, from Duisberg in Germany.

Mr Macleod spoke out less than two weeks after a leading police officer said plans to convert the A9 to a dual carriageway should be brought forward.

The Scottish Government's 
£3 billion plan would upgrade it to a dual carriageway by 2025 by upgrading 80 miles of the road.

However, Chief Superintendent David O'Connor demanded that transport chiefs make the work a higher priority.

Mr Macleod said: "The 
Scottish Government refuses 
to treat the upgrading of this lethal trunk road as a national priority."

This contrasts with the "very different treatment lavished on the central belt", the "fortune spent on the grossly under-used M9 between Edinburgh and Stirling and the billions spent on Edinburgh's trams and the new Forth bridge," he said.

Mr Macleod asked: "How many lives will these projects save?"

The SNP had opposed the ­Edinburgh tram project and a Scottish Government spokesman yesterday insisted that dualling the A9 is "one of the top transport infrastructure projects in the country".

He added: "The dualling of the A9 has been talked about for at least a generation, but we are the first administration committed to making the road dual carriageway, all the way from Perth to Inverness, a reality.

"Make no mistake, this is one of the top transport infrastructure projects in the country.

"We have already spent around £50 million to improve safety on the A9 since 2007, including £14 million for Crubenmore dualling which has improved safety and journey times by doubling the length of the dual carriageway.

"We are determined that A9 motorists should see improvements on the route as soon as possible.

"Road casualties in Scotland are at their lowest level 
since records began but there is clearly much work still to be done."