A multi-million pound contract has been awarded to design the first 19 mile section of the Scottish Government's programme to dual the A96 Inverness to Aberdeen road by 2030.
Building the whole road has been projected to cost £3billion but Transport Scotland has announced the intention to award Jacobs UK Ltd, the £30 million design contract for the Inverness to Nairn stretch, including a bypass of Nairn, a new crossing over the River Nairn and two new railway crossings.
This section could cost between £375m to £475m.
Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities Keith Brown said:
"The Scottish Government has given a clear commitment to dual the A96 which will see delivery of around 88 miles of upgraded road between Inverness and Aberdeen, a huge task but one we are relishing."
He said dualling the A96 required careful, in-depth planning and design to deliver the right scheme and help tackle congestion, make journey times more reliable and, crucially, improve road safety.
"This £30 million design contract for the 19-mile section between Inverness and Nairn which includes a bypass at Nairn, reinforces our determination to invest in this road and all of our city-to-city roads, to bring them up to full dual carriageway standard.
"Design work will start soon to develop the preferred option which was on public display last October, and look to publish draft road orders for the scheme in 2016. In addition to this, we are also pushing ahead with early engineering and environmental assessment work for the entire A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen, and will be holding exhibitions along the route this spring to let the public see and comment on our plans."
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