Design work has begun on the Inverness West Link Road project.

The Highland Council has appointed Capita Symonds to aid in the design and engineering of the new £27.2m road.

The Inverness West Link Road will be located at the western boundary of Inverness city and will link the Southern Distributor Road at Dores Road with the A82 Trunk Road at Torvean.

The road will also provide a new crossing of the River Ness and the Caledonian Canal, and will include allowances for enhancing the recreational facilities and providing improved cycling and walking infrastructure.

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The work to be undertaken includes the preparation of plans and drawings and specifications to enable the council to prepare tender documents.

This stage of the project will include soils investigation and environmental surveys and will take around 12 months.

When all consents are in place, construction will be divided into 2 phases. The first phase will cross the river Ness and link the Dores Road Roundabout with the A82 Trunk Road, while the second phase will enable tandem crossing of the Caledonian Canal at Torvean.

Councillor Graham Phillips, Chairman of the Council’s Transport Environmental and Community Services Committee, said: "This is a significant piece of work, which will help move the project forward and I am pleased that the detailed design work has now started in earnest.

"It is important that we maintain our momentum on this key project and deliver a new link road that will free up the traffic pressure in the Inverness City centre as well as providing the framework for an enhanced land use master plan for the Torvean and Ness-side areas of Inverness."

(IT/GK)