Highland Council is lobbying transport chiefs behind-the-scenes to persuade them to start the £3billion A96 road dualling project at Nairn.
Local authority directors have written to Transport Scotland to push for the “early delivery” of the Nairn bypass scheme.
The Scottish Government is committed to dualling the entire length of the Inverness to Aberdeen road by 2030, and the first phase will be the 19-mile stretch between Inverness and Nairn.
A total of six flyovers will be created on the £475million Highland section of the route, which starts about half-a-mile east of the Raigmore Interchange and continues in a north-easterly direction to Hardmuir, two miles to the east of Auldearn, where it connects with the existing A96 single carriageway.
The long-awaited Nairn bypass is to be included in the first phase, and the council has signalled that it should be the starting point of the work.
Stuart Black, the council’s director of planning and development, recently wrote to Transport Scotland to make the case.
He said: “Given the recognition that the Nairn bypass will reduce the amount of long distance traffic on local roads and bring environmental benefits to the town, the council requests that every possible endeavour is made through the contract phasing for the early delivery of the Nairn bypass.”
Nairn councillor Liz MacDonald backed the call last night, saying: “If it is done in phases, then Nairn is the bottleneck so this is the highest priority. I would support that 100%.
“Whenever the guys from Transport Scotland and Jacobs have been here I’ve said that to them. Start with us and work back to Inverness. It’s for the safety of pedestrians as well.”
Transport Scotland said that the construction programme and phasing for the individual elements was “yet to be developed”.
In his letter, Mr Black also raised fears about the impact on the council when it takes over the management of the old A96 route between Inverness and Nairn when it is de-trunked.
Extra work and cost will be created in relation to signs, changed speed limits, drainage, road markings, new cycle tracks, access gates, street lighting and signals.
Mr Black said: “The scale of the proposed transferred asset is a cause for significant concern. Not only is it substantial sections of the existing A96 but also substantial new sections of side roads (approximately 29 miles in total).”