Finance Secretary John Swinney yesterday opened a £2.7m junction upgrade on the A9, the latest stage of a plan of major improvements to the main route to the Highlands.

Finance Secretary John Swinney yesterday opened a £2.7m junction upgrade on the A9, the latest stage of a plan of major improvements to the main route to the Highlands.

The redesigned junction at Bankfoot, north of Perth, will remove the need for cars to turn right from the A9 and improve safety on the route. The upgrade follows the completion of the £2.7m Carrbridge improvement in June.

Mr Swinney, who planted a tree at the Bankfoot junction yesterday, said: "This £2.7m investment is another of example of how this government is investing in the hard-pressed construction industry in Scotland.

"Together with the Carrbridge scheme, which was completed earlier this year, this demonstrates our commitment to invest progressively in the A9 on a continuing basis."

The Scottish Government has committed to dualling the A9 from Perth to Blair Atholl, introducing climbing lanes and 2+1 sections between Blair Atholl and Inverness, together with other junction improvements as part of a first phase of work. A second phase will see dual carriageway introduced between Aviemore and Inverness and Blair Atholl and Aviemore.

The A9 improvements are among a group of major motorway engineering plans that have been hit by delays. Schemes to improve the M8, M74, A82 and M80 have been hit by a series of local objections and technical issues.

Dualling of the A9 has been given priority by the Scottish Government in order to improve safety and remove congestion.