IN Brief:
- Logistics UK and Dumfries and Galloway MP John Cooper have renewed calls for full dualling of the A75.
- The 95-mile route connects the Cairnryan ferry ports with the A74(M) and M6.
- The proposal also calls for safer HGV rest facilities and more predictable freight journey times.
Logistics UK has renewed calls for Scotland’s A75 to be converted into a continuous dual carriageway, creating a more dependable connection between the Cairnryan ferry terminals, the A74(M), the M6, and the wider British road network.
The business group discussed the corridor with Dumfries and Galloway MP John Cooper, focusing on freight reliability, road safety, overtaking risk, and the shortage of suitable driver facilities. Immediate proposals include additional crawler lanes and work on junctions and sections with poor alignment or adverse camber.
Running for approximately 95 miles across southwest Scotland, the A75 carries traffic between the ports at Cairnryan and the motorway network. Ferry services from Cairnryan connect Scotland with Northern Ireland, placing the road within freight journeys that extend well beyond the region through which it passes.
Most of the route remains single carriageway, bringing HGVs, passenger vehicles, local traffic, agricultural machinery, and ferry-related peaks onto the same constrained sections. Limited overtaking opportunities can create queues behind slower vehicles and encourage unsafe manoeuvres where visibility or road geometry is poor.
Logistics UK favours a continuous upgrade rather than a series of isolated improvements. A complete dual carriageway would provide physical separation between opposing flows and reduce the degree to which a single slow vehicle or minor incident affects the wider corridor.
John Cooper said: “The case for dualling the A75 is about much more than speed. It is about creating a safer, more reliable and more efficient transport corridor that serves local communities, supports economic growth and strengthens one of the UK’s most important freight routes.”
The road’s wider network role became particularly visible after Storm Darragh damaged infrastructure at Holyhead in 2024. Cairnryan and the A75 helped provide an alternative route to the island of Ireland, although the diversion also demonstrated the limited resilience of a corridor where long sections remain single carriageway.
Freight reliability is shaped less by average journey time than by the range between a normal trip and a disrupted one. Vehicles booked onto ferry departures have limited tolerance for incidents, roadworks, weather, or slow-moving traffic, and a missed sailing can add hours to the journey.
Those delays spread through driver schedules, delivery appointments, trailer availability, warehouse labour, and return-load planning. A distribution centre may be waiting for inbound stock, while a manufacturer may require parts against a production sequence that leaves little room for an unplanned overnight hold.
Full dualling would not remove every constraint surrounding the corridor. Port operations, ferry schedules, weather, driver availability, and congestion elsewhere would continue to influence journey performance, but increased road capacity would reduce the exposure created by overtaking restrictions and partial blockages.
Road upgrades also involve land acquisition, environmental assessment, planning, funding, and years of construction. Local communities may support safer journeys while seeking changes to alignments, junctions, noise controls, and access arrangements, leaving the final scheme dependent on sustained political and financial commitment.
Logistics UK has paired its dualling proposal with calls for high-quality truck stops. HGV drivers must take statutory rest periods regardless of whether suitable facilities are available, yet safe parking, toilets, food, and secure overnight space remain limited on several important freight corridors.
Inadequate provision pushes vehicles into lay-bys, industrial estates, and other locations not designed for long breaks. Poor-quality rest affects driver welfare and recruitment while creating security risks for vehicles, cargo, and surrounding communities.
Logistics contributes an estimated £7.8 billion to Scotland’s economy and employs more than 200,000 people, equivalent to 7.8% of the country’s workforce. That employment spans transport operators, ports, airports, inland hubs, warehouses, and the companies supporting those activities.
The move towards permanent contingency infrastructure for cross-Channel freight in Kent reflects a similar recognition that temporary measures cannot indefinitely carry the burden of strategic trade flows. Ferry corridors need capacity for ordinary operations as well as weather events, port disruption, and seasonal peaks.
Future truck-stop development would also need to accommodate changing vehicle technology. Battery-electric HGVs require charging capacity positioned around operating routes and mandatory breaks, while other low-carbon fuels create different storage, safety, and refuelling requirements.
Building that infrastructure alongside a major road upgrade would be more efficient than retrofitting constrained sites later. Power connections, parking layouts, dwell times, and vehicle circulation can be incorporated into the corridor plan rather than treated as separate projects.
The A75 remains a regional road performing a national and international freight function. Continued reliance on a mainly single-carriageway route leaves the Cairnryan connection vulnerable to incidents, unpredictable journey times, and insufficient provision for the drivers using it.
A continuous upgrade would require substantial expenditure and a long delivery programme, but the corridor’s role in Irish Sea trade will persist throughout that process. Short-term safety work and driver facilities can proceed while the larger question of full dualling remains under consideration.
