A quarry near Kincraig has won permission to triple its production for the next two years to supply the A9 dualling work.
The Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) yesterday gave Breedon Aggregates approval to raise extraction from 50,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes per year from Meadowside Quarry.
The company will also now build a temporary access road to the construction site at the A9 Inverness to Perth road and will install a mobile asphalt plant at the quarry.
The materials will all be used on the five-mile Kincraig to Dalraddy stretch, which is currently being made into dual carriageway.
Eleanor Mackintosh, CNPA planning committee convener said: “The dualling of the A9 is one of the biggest infrastructure projects Scotland has ever seen and the park authority has a key role to play – whether it’s planning applications like the ones we have before us today, or working alongside those delivering the project to ensure that outdoor access and active travel are easy along the route of the road and that our natural heritage and landscapes are not compromised.
“We welcome the significant gains that the dualling of the A9 will bring to the economy of the national park and we will continue to work closely with our partners in Transport Scotland and others to help ensure that the development is one that befits a national park.”
Committee member Councillor Bill Lobban said that building the temporary track to make materials straight to the work site was a “very sensible” step which would keep “100,000 tonnes” off the main road.