The four companies vying for an £11million contract to improve a north-east road have been revealed by Transport Scotland.
The works on the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road at Inveramsay Bridge are expected to cut congestion and reduce journey times.
Advance ground work will begin later this month to provide the bidders with additional information.
Now Transport Scotland has announced which four companies will compete for the works that will include restructuring and realigning the road and building an underpass.
Balfour Beatty Regional Civil Engineering, RJ McLeod (Contractors), Morrison Construction and Farrans Construction have been asked to submit tenders for the project, which has been broadly welcomed by local residents and motorists who are held up at the bottleneck regularly.
Yesterday Transport Minister Keith Brown welcomed the latest development and said the scheme was part of billions of pounds of investment in the region’s transport networks.
He said: “This scheme will cut congestion and improve journey time reliability by providing free flowing traffic and reducing the likelihood of strikes to the existing railway bridge.
“The work at Inveramsay Bridge is just part of a major investment package worth billions being prepared for the north and north-east, including the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie-Tipperty scheme, and the A9 and A96 dualling schemes.”
First Minister and Aberdeenshire East MSP Alex Salmond also welcomed the news.
He said: “Commuters, communities, businesses and tourists using this section of the road will all benefit from reduced journey times and improved traffic flow.
“The Scottish Government’s transport policy for the north-east recognises the importance of this area in economic terms and for those who live and work here.”
Nearly a mile of new road will be built 328ft west of the existing bridge towards the River Urie, running parallel to it before turning southwards to cross the railway line. A new junction will be built at the existing bridge to provide local access, field accesses and an underpass.
Work is due to start by the end of the year and could take about 12 months to complete.