Balfour Beatty has been named by Transport Scotland as the contractor to carry out repairs to the Kessock Bridge.

The £13.2m contract will see extensive refurbishment works carried out, including resurfacing of the bridge deck.

Work on the 30-year-old structure will occur between February and June 2013 and between February and June 2014.

A Transport Scotland spokesman said: "Within a matter of weeks from now this project begins, and we are encouraging people travelling to and from Inverness during peak times to start thinking now about alternative and easier ways to travel while these works are going on.

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"There will be additional capacity on both buses and trains from February and public transport will allow people to get in and out of the city faster. A local car-share scheme has also been set up and if enough people take advantage of this, we can reduce the number of cars on the road and hence reduce congestion.

"We have already invested heavily in measures to alleviate congestion, including improvements to Longman roundabout and the reopening of Conon Bridge Station. However, we all have a part to play in keeping Inverness moving during these essential repairs and I urge commuters to think about what they could do differently to avoid being delayed in queues when the works start in February."

The main works will involve removing the existing road surface, repairing defects and waterproofing to the bridge steel deck plate and resurfacing both carriageways.

The bridge deck expansion joints are to be replaced, as are the lighting columns, safety fences in the central reserve and footways.

More information will be available at www.trafficscotland.org as the works commence.

(IT/GK)