It is one of the most important roads in Scotland and vital to the economy – local and national – but for long stretches the A77 can seem like a back road.

Campaigners have long fought for significant investment on a route that acts as a major artery between the island of Ireland and Scotland.

Yet the A77 between Ayr and Stranraer has seen just over £50m spent on capital projects over the last 20 years, not including maintenance.

That compares to a massive £10.9 billion spent across Scotland as whole over the same period – just 0.5 per cent.

The main criticisms centre on the lack of overtaking sections to help free up the road from the slow moving heavy goods and agricultural vehicles driving up and down from the ferry terminals around the clock.

Donald McHarrie and the A77 Action Group have also pointed to dangerous junctions, crumbling surfaces, claustrophobically narrow roads through towns and the disruption caused when the road is closed.

Without investment, Mr McHarrie said, ‘the road isn’t fit for purpose’.

The group is waiting to hear back from Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar who promised a meeting at Holyrood, potentially with Nicola Sturgeon.

He continued: “It doesn’t get focus or attention of the Scottish Government.

“It is not just a tourist route. It is the link between Edinburgh and Dublin, between Glasgow and Belfast.

“It isn’t just about one issue or another in isolation, the problems with the A77 hit the HGVs heading up to the central belt, the safety of those using the roads and the effect it has on the towns it runs through.

“We have seen many crashes and fatalities along the A77.

“We want more overtaking sections. Without them you get caught up in congestion, behind HGVs and tractors. People get frustrated and try and overtake where they shouldn’t.

“It is bad driving, but the state of the road, the congestion and heavy vehicles act as a catalyst.

“I would say that a journey which took an hour 20 years ago can now take two hours. ”

Work on the new £29m Maybole Bypass shows more investment coming from the Scottish Government.

However, while welcoming the bypass, Mr McHarrie felt it was an opportunity missed.

With the persistent issue of few places to safely overtake, the decision not to press ahead with a dual section of the road was the wrong one, he said, but was better than getting nothing by insisting on the more costly plan.

He said: “The Maybole Bypass isn’t what we wanted, which was a dual carriageway.

“The lack of overtaking sections is a problem right down the trunk road. But sometimes you have to compromise.

“I hope that people will see the improvements to be had from a bypass and can go on to look at doing the same thing elsewhere, particularly the likes of Girvan.”

One of the more obvious issues is one that Mr McHarrie says epitomises the lack of attention that has been paid to the south west.

Towards the southern end of the Ayrshire section of the A77 drivers are met with roadworks, a narrow single lane and an almost sheer drop, separated only by some low concrete barriers.

The work at the Carlock Wall resulted from a increasingly unstable section of hillside, partly due to the removal of trees that had largely been responsible for maintaining the stability.

Originally set for repair last autumn, work had been delayed until this month. However, Transport Scotland have now said the target is spring 2022.

Mr McHarrie noted that despite this major slippage disrupting a major commercial and tourist route, it received little coverage nationally when compared to similar issues at the ‘Rest and Be Thankful’.

Wryly he said that he and others had taken to calling this section the ‘Patch And Be Grateful’ .

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “The South West Scotland Transport Study recommended two options for targeted and safety related road improvements on the A77 south of Ayr.

“These options include localised widening, improved overtaking opportunities and a package of measures to improve road safety. “

Transport Scotland said it had spent £88m in maintaining the road since 2007, while the Scottish Government, it said, had invested £35m on four schemes.

It also says the £29m Maybole bypass would reduce traffic in the High Street by half and HGVs by 90 percent.