Councillor issues warning over neglect of A76

A COUNCILLOR is warning that long-term neglect and climate change are making one of the region’s most important roads increasingly dangerous and unreliable.
Mid and Upper Nithsdale Councillor Jim Dempster is concerned about the condition of the A76, the lack of investment on the road, and number of casualties in recent years.
At this Thursday’s full council meeting, he will table a motion which calls on Dumfries and Galloway Council to set up both a cross-authority action group with neighbouring East Ayrshire Council and a campaign group to petition the Scottish Government for programmed improvements on the A76 Kilmarnock to Dumfries trunk road.
This motion has been backed by Mid and Upper Nithsdale Councillor Andrew Wood, who is also pushing for the council to take decisive action.
Councillor Dempster says the road has been repeatedly disrupted in recent years, particularly on the Enterkinfoot section between Glenairlie Bridge and Drumlanrig Castle, where the road follows the course of the River Nith.
His motion states: “In recent years this section of the A76 roadway has suffered two separate landslips
causing long-term partial closure of the roadway on both occasions, and more recently a culvert failure under the A76 at Enterkinfoot caused long-term closure of part of the A76 carriageway, all consistent with the impact of climate change and long-term neglect.
“We believe that failure by Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government to recognise the direct impact of climate change on the A76, given its unique close relationship with both river and railway on the Enterkin section of the A76 makes it vulnerable to further roadside/river embankment erosion.
“Unless measures are taken now to mitigate against further landslips associated with floods and high-water levels clearly linked to climate change, we foresee further road closures on the A76 in the future, and only urgent intervention and significant investment on the A76 by Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government in our A76 trunk road infrastructure can prevent this prediction becoming a reality.”
Councillor Dempster has also submitted road traffic collision statistics alongside his motion, which paint a concerning picture. Figures from the MAVRIC mapping system show that across the full length of the A76, there were 29 casualties in 2024, including four people killed and four seriously injured.
The 2024 death toll represents the highest figure recorded across the six-year period covered by the data.
Within Dumfries and Galloway alone, the A76 recorded 15 casualties in 2024, with two people seriously injured. While this is lower than the 18 casualties recorded in 2023, the data shows the road has consistently produced casualties year on year.
When compared to other major roads in the region, the A75 emerges as the most dangerous, recording 65 casualties in 2024 — the highest figure in the six-year dataset and including five fatalities.
However, Councillor Dempster’s motion makes clear the A76 deserves attention in its own right as the third busiest trunk road in the region.
His motion states that “the A76 is a vital transport route for East Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway businesses, as well as for public and private transport”.