Plans to complete a congestion-busting bypass around southern Inverness are poised to reach a major milestone in the next few weeks.
The tenders for the £36million West Link project have been received by Highland Council and the main contract will be awarded in the “very near future”.
A total of eight contractors were expected to be competing for the work and for the “canal parks enhancement” project.
The scheme, which has been on the drawing board for more than a decade, will eventually link the A82 Fort William road to the A9 Perth route and A96 Aberdeen road via the city’s Southern Distributor.
It will include a new swing bridge over the Caledonian Canal and a low-level bridge over the River Ness.
Highland Council infrastructure chairwoman, Audrey Sinclair, said the contract award would represent a key moment.
“It will be an extremely important step forward. I think everybody at the council is looking forward to it,” she said.
“It will be very soon. They will work through the processes as quickly as possible. It’s important to work through all the detail but I would expect it to be weeks rather than months.”
Preparatory work at the site is already being carried out by contractor MM Miller (Wick) Ltd, with most of the tree removal works complete, as well as traffic management on the A82 Glenurquhart Road.
Stewart Nicol, chief executive of Inverness Chamber of Commerce, said: “I’m absolutely delighted. It’s a really significant stage in the whole project.
“It’s great that work on the ground has already started in earnest, and it’s good that the main contract will be in place soon and we will see work starting.
“I think it’s very significant for the city because it’s an important link for transport infrastructure in the city itself. It will provide an alternative to having to go through the city centre.”
Completion of the first stage is expected late next year, with the second phase pencilled-in to be finished by 2020, following the relocation of the golf course.
Critics of the plans have questioned the finances behind the scheme, and highlighted the loss of green space.
West Link Protest Group spokesman, John West, said: “It will be interesting to see how the tenders tie up with the council’s own estimates for the costs.
“The council’s estimates on costs for the West Link have never been that accurate in the past.”