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The A9 is a major road running from the Falkirk council area in central Scotland to Scrabster Harbour, Thurso in the far north, via Stirling, Bridge of Allan, Perth and Inverness. At 273 miles (439 km), it is the longest road in Scotland and the fifth-longest A-road in the United Kingdom. Historically it was the main road between Edinburgh and John o' Groats, and has been called ''the spine of Scotland''. The road's origins lie in the military roads building programme of the 18th century, further supplemented by the building of several bridges in later years. The A9 route was formally designated in 1923, and originally ran from Edinburgh to Inverness. The route was soon extended north from Inverness up to John O'Groats. By the 1970s the route was hampered by severe traffic congestion, and an extensive upgrading programme was undertaken on the 138 mile section between Bridge of Allan and Inverness. This involved the bypassing of numerous towns and villages on the route, and the building of several new bridges, notably the Kessock Bridge which shortened the route north out of Inverness by 14 miles. In the south the road's importance has been eclipsed by (1) the A90 across the Forth Road Bridge and the M90 motorway, which now link Edinburgh more directly with Perth, bypassing Stirling and Bridge of Allan as formerly important bridge points, and (2) the M9, which is now the main road between Edinburgh and Bridge of Allan. Between Edinburgh and Falkirk the old A9 route has been reclassified into the A803 and the B9080 amongst others; part of the route between Kirkliston and Maybury no longer exists as the area is now part of Edinburgh Airport. Between Falkirk and Bridge of Allan, the A9 survives as a more or less parallel road to the M9. The link between the M9 and the A9, by Bridge of Allan, is the Keir Roundabout. ==History== The A9's origins lie in the military roads building programme carried out by General Wade in the 18th century to allow deployment of forces in key locations within the Highlands. At this time there was already an existing road between Perth and Dunkeld, and between 1727 and 1730 a roadway was constructed between Dunkeld in Perthshire and Inverness.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.oldroadsofscotland.com/military_roads.htm )〕 However, Wade had still to bridge the River Tay at Aberfeldy. Construction began in 1733 to a design by William Adam. The bridge was completed within the year, but Wade wrote "The Bridge of Tay... was a work of great difficulty and also much more expensive than was calculated." At a cost of over £4000, the bridge became the most expensive item on Wade's road building programme. For most of its length between Perth and Inverness, the route was identical to the A9 prior to the commencement of the major upgrading works in the 1970s.〔 In 1802, Thomas Telford was requested by the Lords of the Treasury to carry out a survey of the interior of the Scottish Highlands. In his report, he highlighted the inadequacy of the old military roads to meet the requirements of the general population. In particular, he noted the difficulties caused by the absence of bridges over some of the principal rivers.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.visitdunkeld.com/telford-bridge.htm )〕 As part of the improvements to the road system that were carried out in the following years, a bridge was built at Dunkeld, designed by Telford. The original cost estimate was £15,000 with costs to be split between the Government and the landowner, the 4th Duke of Atholl. However, costs spiralled up to around £40,000. The Government refused to increase their financial contribution, so the Duke of Atholl had to finance the extra cost. As a result, tolls were placed on the completed bridge to recoup costs. The realigned road north out of Dunkeld would evolve eventually into the A9, and the bridge carried the bulk of the traffic into the Highlands until the new A9 by-pass was opened in 1977.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.dunkeldandbirnam.org.uk/historyheritage/33-history/75-thomas-telford-s-bridge )〕 The formal scheme of classification of roads in Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) was first published on 1 April 1923. The original route of the designated A9 began in Edinburgh at the Corstorphine junction in the west of the city, branching north off the A8. The route went through Kirkliston and onwards to Polmont and Falkirk. The road then followed the now familiar route to Stirling and then up to Perth and onwards to Inverness, going through numerous villages en-route.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=List Of Class I and Class II Roads and Numbers (transcription) )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=A9_history )〕 The original A9 terminated at Inverness, but in the years that followed it was extended all the way up to John O'Groats. By the 1970s, the A9 went north-west out of Inverness in what had originally been classified as the A88,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://maps.nls.uk/view/74467010 )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=A88_(Inverness_-_Scrabster) )〕 following the Beauly Firth coast westwards through Kirkhill, Beauly and Muir of Ord. Continuing north through Dingwall, the road then began to follow the Cromarty Firth coast, where it followed largely the modern alignment, going through Alness and Tain (both now bypassed). The A9 from here followed west along the south side of the Dornoch Firth coast before reaching Bonar Bridge where the road turned sharply eastwards on the north side of the Dornoch Firth. On reaching the village of Dornoch, the A9 headed north along the coast, going through several villages before reaching the town of Wick. The final stretch continued north along the coast before it finally reached John O'Groats.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「A9 road (Scotland)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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