A campaigner calling for improvements to the A77 has warned the lack of spending on the road is a "national embarrassment" - and could drive big companies out of Scotland.
Former firefighter John Campbell, from Maybole, says the full road must be made dual carriageway for its full length.
And he said repeated landslides have been leaving lorry drivers and motorists with "the longest diversion in Scotland" to reach the Cairnryan ferry terminal.
He warned that jobs could be lost, with delivery companies for big supermarkets based in Central Scotland considering "other options" rather than having to use the A77...including relocating to the Midlands or Lancashire.
Mr Campbell, who is a member of the A77 Campaign Team, spoke out after South Ayrshire Council revealed their own plans to develop a business case for vital improvements to the A77 - with no tangible moves by Transport Scotland on the horizon.
Mr Campbell said: “The road is not built for that volume of traffic. The A77 and A75 are the only two trunk roads in the UK not serviced by dual carriageways, right to the dock gates.
"It is a total embarrassment for the whole of Scotland that we don’t have anything like that.
"£10milion goes down the A77 in exports to southern and Northern Ireland. Transport Scotland have even admitted on occasion that it is the worst road in Scotland.
"It has the slowest average speed for any trunk road, and from Ayr to Stranraer, it is 33.8mph. No other drive in Scotland comes close to that."
A recent poll showed that 93 per cent of drivers who used the road were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with it.
Regarding Transport Scotland's long term plan for the road, Mr Campbell said: “For now, they say in their next 20 year programme, they may widen part of the road, might straighten it and put in more overtaking lanes, but that’s not good enough.
“The investment in the south-west of Scotland is 0.04 per cent of the roads budget for the whole of Scotland. We want our fair share of capital spending on roads.
“Recently, they announced a spend of £474m on Rest and Be Thankful in Argyll. That’s over £1billion on that road.
“Because of the number of landslides on the A77, is it far worse than the Rest and Be Thankful.
“In a three-year period we have had 204 days of total closure of the A77 – and the longest diversion in Scotland to get to Cairnryan.
“The other problem will be the delivery lorries. Many of them come from big supermarket warehouses in the central belt and head down the A77 to Cairnryan, bringing milk and fresh goods.
"But they could be sitting in a layby for hours because the drivers would otherwise go over their permitted hours because of the delays and diversions. They could spend days getting to Northern Ireland.
“There could be jobs lost because of this. I know some companies are already thinking of moving to the Midlands or Liverpool because they can’t rely on the A77 any more.
“It is an embarrassment to the whole of Scotland that the A77 is not served by a better route.
“I was made redundant three times in Maybole in the 70s and 80s, because companies all moved and went to different locations for better road connections. Girvan faced the same problem.
"Unless something is done, we'll see more of that, I'm sure."
Read more: Transport minister urged to meet A77 campaigners as anger over upgrades is raised at Holyrood
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said today: “The strategic importance of both the A75 and A77 to Scotland’s economy is recognised by this government, and we value the critical link they provide to the wider markets in the rest of the UK and Europe by connecting the ports at Cairnryan to the wider trunk road network.
“Recommendation 40 in the second Strategic Transport Projects Review places equal importance on both the A75 and the A77 to Scotland and its economy.
"As with the A75, it identifies a series of targeted infrastructure improvements on the A77 for the next 20 years.
“Since 2007 we have completed five major improvements on the A77, including most recently the £29 million Maybole Bypass which opened in January 2022.
"This is in addition to over £124 million which has been invested on the A77 to ensure its safe and efficient operation.”
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