Work is to be carried out in this year on refurbishing a road bridge over the River Spey.

The redecking of Boat o' Brig at Orton will be funded by additional money awarded to Moray Council by the Scottish Government for capital projects.

The local authority has been given an extra £890k on the condition that it is used for projects not already included in its capital plan for 2013/14.

The bridge is a strategic crossing point over the Spey and is a vital economic link for the area's whisky industry.

In order to speed up the works and ensure the available funding is used in the current financial year, councillors agreed on Wednesday to use the framework agreement the council has with contractor Morrison Construction to carry out the work.

The Policy and Resources Committee was told this would enable an early start to be made because the team was already in place and the financial system existed for managing costs and ensuring a robust audit trail.

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Under the refurbishment plans, the entire deck of the bridge will be replaced with precast reinforced concrete section, which are estimated to give the Boat o' Brig a lifespan of at least 120 years.

Council Leader Councillor Allan Wright, commented: "I was extremely pleased that everyone on the committee supported this project to be accelerated to this year. The work badly needs done and it is a vital link for a range of businesses between Speyside and the A96.

"The bridge was deteriorating quite fast and it would not have been long before heavy goods vehicles would have been faced with long diversions. We will now press ahead as fast as possible using the framework agreement the council has with Morrison Construction.

"This option has been used before to speed operations and it will also mean traffic disruption being confined to the shortest possible time. Statutory road closure notices will now be processed and I would expect the bridge works proper to be underway in September and with all the work completed by the end of February, 2014."

The Council had initially considered works at Speyside High School or an access road for the new Elgin High School as the favoured projects, but there was no guarantee that either project could be accelerated in time to utilise the funding.

(JP/CD)