A formal planning application for a controversial new road in the Highland capital was lodged yesterday amid claims that the final bill could soar to £60million.
The local authority insisted construction work on the Inverness West Link remained on course to start in 2015 after years of wrangling over the route.
But one leading objector said the council’s decision to proceed with the project without knowing the final cost was “surreal”.
Protesters also believe there will be challenges to the compulsory purchase orders needed to acquire the land for the road, which would in turn trigger a public local inquiry into the proposal.
The latest estimate of the cost of the route over the River Ness and Caledonian Canal – known as option six – was £34million last month.
The figure is about £7million more than 2011’s original forecast.
And with construction work not due to begin until 2015, it is feared costs will continue to rise.
Opponents of the council’s scheme have advocated building a high-level bridge across the canal and river or a tunnel under both.
John West, of Inverness Civic Trust, said: “The cost of option six is going up every month so we have no idea how much it will cost.
“We also don’t know how much the compulsory purchase orders for the land required will be.
“We don’t know how much the land will be for the golf course. We could be looking at £60million for the whole project.
“If I was building a house, I would not have an architect come up with a design without thinking about what I could afford.”
The West Link will connect the city’s Dores Road with the A82 Inverness-Fort William route and involves installing a new swing bridge over the Caledonian Canal and a low-level bridge over the River Ness.
The project will also include enhancement of sporting facilities in the Torvean area, including rugby pitches and a golf course, to replace amenity areas around the riverside that will be affected by the development.
The CPOs will be published later this month.
The council already owns some of the ground required but will have to buy more than 120 parcels of land for the project.