Construction of the A737 Dalry Bypass took a step forward today when the invite to carry out the main ground investigation works was published.

Transport Scotland has published the OJEU notice for the works which are expected to start later this summer.

Transport Minister Keith Brown said: "It essential that we continue to press ahead with this vital £28 million scheme so recently made available an initial £10 million of investment to allow further preparation work to be undertaken to confirm the preferred route, and the necessary statutory procedures to be completed.

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"The Dalry Bypass will help separate local from strategic traffic, and lead to improved safety both for road users and the local communities and better journey time reliability for motorists and businesses along the length of the A737.

"With the initial assessments of route options and environmental impact already completed, we are now pressing ahead with main ground investigation which will inform the further detailed design and assessment work needed to confirm the preferred route east of the village.

"Reaching today’s milestone will be good news for road users and good news for local communities who want to see a solution to this bottleneck in one of the West of Scotland’s key routes."

Subject to completion of the necessary statutory procedures, construction is expected to start in 2014.

(GK)