Council chiefs may be forced to use compulsory purchase orders for a £22million road improvement programme in Aberdeen.
Around 500 letters are being sent to residents who may be affected by the Berryden Corridor Improvement scheme.
The plan will involve widening the existing road to a dual carriageway, with associated junction improvements from Skene Square to Ashgrove Road, and a new dual carriageway built from Ashgrove Road to the St Machar Drive roundabout.
It is believed that between two to eight properties may be bought by the council while around 15-20 gardens will be affected by the works.
Council officers are currently checking with the Registers of Scotland to see who owns land needed for the expansion plan and they will be approached to start negotiations to sell to the local authority.
The letter says that while it would be preferable that land is bought under negotiation with the landowner, if it cannot be acquired on that basis, the council intends to use compulsory purchase powers.
Any compulsory purchase would have to go to committee for approval.
Aberdeen City Council transport regeneration spokesman councillor Ross Grant urged residents not to “worry unnecessarily” and pointed to the comparatively few properties that would be affected.
He said: “We don’t want residents to worry unnecessarily, and anyone with any queries should get in contact with Aberdeen City Council with their concerns.
“The £22million scheme will help ease congestion in the area linking up to the Denburn underpass and the Third Don Crossing, and is part of our strategic infrastructure plan where we look at the transport needs across the whole of the city rather than areas in isolation.”
Work could start on the long-awaited scheme as early as the middle of this year after negotiations with residents are complete.
It comes after around £1.5million was put aside by the local authority last year for legal, design and investigative works for the scheme, with the council previously estimating that the whole project would cost £16.3million.
Initial plans for the Berryden Corridor were bought forward in 2003, with the proposals being earmarked in the 2009 budget.